The Power of Love
by JackOfBladesX
Summary: Negative emotions can turn a Spirit of Justice into a Demon of Vengeance.  But can positive emotions do the reverse, and turn a demon into a spirit?  A Mage, Savvy in Demonolgy, discovers the answer.  Rewrite of "Arl of Redcliffe  Quest.  Amell/Morrigan.
1. I am Love

**Disclaimor: I don't own Dragon Age Origins. Nor do I won the Dragon Age 2 (since the idea is actually coming from that).**

**A/N: The idea for this actually came from information released about Dragon Age 2. Those that read the information, regarding a certain Mage, will probably get where I'm coming from with this. Those that haven't, I have no intention of revealing, so you're safe.**

**Warning, this story contains something of a romantic scene. It's not an actual love scene, so I think I should be fine with a 'T-rating'. After reading it, if someone thinks otherwise, please tell me otherwise.  
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The Power of Love**

For the hundredth time since my group arrived at Redcliffe, I kicked myself for not coming here sooner. We originally came here to find the Arl of Redcliffe, Eamon Guerrin. Stupidly, I kept putting it off. I figured if we used a few of the contracts, to recruit a few of the armies behind us, Arl Eamon would actually take us more serious. Without the armies we were just two Grey Wardens, turned criminals, asking a noble to help us deal with the current Regent.

Unfortunately, when we arrived at Redcliffe, we found it under attack by the walking dead no less. After fighting the fiends off, all night, Teagan Guerrin, the Arl's younger brother, decided it was the right time to sneak into the castle. While Teagan walked in with the Arl's wife, who seemed to wait for just the right moment to show herself, part of my team snuck in through a hidden passage. The remainder of my team stayed with the Knights of Redcliffe and waited until the Castle gates were opened. I opened the gate, our reinforcements charged into the courtyard, and we quickly took out the remaining undead in the castle.

Looking around, I kicked myself again for not coming here sooner. Sure, the problems at the Tower of Magi weren't really something we could have put off, but we _could_ have come back here instead of going to the Dwarves…Maker knows nothing was happening there. While Zevran, Leliana, Liam, and myself were sneaking around the Castle, looking for the main gate, my mind was going a mile a minute.

Ser Perth, the highest-ranking member of the Knights of Redcliffe, came up to me, "We've taken the Courtyard, but we'll need to take the Main Hall if we're to hold the Castle. Shall we go there together?" he asked me. If my hunch was right, the demon would probably be in the Main Hall.

All eyes turned on me, all of them waiting for my orders. I had already decided on what to do, "No, I'm taking a small group into deal with this alone." I casted a quick glance around my group, "Alistair and Sten, you're with me."

"WOOF!"

I smiled down at my faithful Mabari hound, Liam, "Yea, you to boy."

"Warden, I disagree with this course of action." I nearly sighed when Wynne went into her heavy lecture mode. Why couldn't people just listen to me without questioning every damn order? "I don't think you've come to realize yet, but I believe we are facing a demon here."

"Tis true, only a demon, or a very strong Mage, could raise and control all these dead. T'would be better if you were to bring more-" Morrigan took a moment to glance at Alistair, "-competent help."

"I agree Warden", Ser Perth started, "Safety in numbers."

A quick glance around and I knew that almost everyone agreed with that assessment. Though I'm guessing more than a few just didn't want to be left behind again. Sadly, they would be disappointed. I glanced at both Wynne and Morrigan, since the two of them knew more about what was happening than anyone else, "Ask Leliana and Zevran can attest to, I've already guessed that a demon was behind this. Unlike the two of you though, I know what kind of demon we're dealing with. There's a reason I made my choice, so I'm going to have to ask all of you to trust me in this."

Most seemed to relent, but of course Wynne was ready to keep pushing, "Warden, Tristan's teachings-"

I glared right at her, "You trusted me with the lives at the tower…so trust me here!" That shut her up. Though she was obviously not very happy, she gave me a nod of acceptance. I took a long look at the Castle in front of me. "Ser Perth?"

The man came to stand next to me. "Yes Warden?"

"The main hall, does it have a window?"

The knight nodded before pointing, "Yes ser, that one."

He gathered everyones attention, "If that window breaks, take that as a sign to charge into the main hall." With that said, I started walking up the stairs to the Keep doors. Remembering something I quickly turned back to look at the others, "Oh, and I'm expecting another man to walk through the door we came from" I began, gesturing towards the corner of the courtyard. "He'll be about my height with brown hair. If you see him, don't let him enter the Castle either…but don't hurt him either." I got a few nods at that. With that last order, I turned to walk into the Castle; Sten, Alistair, and Liam at my back.

-xXx-

After hearing what Wynne, aka Team Mom, had said I knew it was only a matter of time before Alistair asked the inevitable question. "So who's Tristan?"

I suppressed the urge to groan. Not that I had a problem talking about this, but I just knew Alistair would have issues with my former Master. "The short answer, Tristan was my master for about six months, when I was nine. He studied demons."

Alistair's eyes widened, "What! But that's illegal."

I shook my head, "Learning to Summon demons or using Blood Magic to control them was illegal. He studied them to learn how to kill them. Hmm, he also wanted to learn how to free a Mage from a demon's control." I stopped moving as a thought occurred to me, my three companions following suit. "Makes me wonder why I was assigned to study under him. Demonology may not have been illegal, but it was considered Taboo. Most Mages steered clear of it for fear of being presumed Demon Summoners."

"Why were you only with your Master for so short a time?" Sten asked.

I shrugged at him, "They discovered he was a practitioner of Blood Magic."

Once again, that got the expected response from Alistair. I quieted him down and we continued moving towards the Main Hall. "Point is, I learned a few things about Demons from him, and I intend to use it to save the kid. If that's possible."

Alistair's eyes widened, "The kid, Connor? You think he's possessed? Wait, Connor's a Mage?"

"Yes, to all three."

"I disagree, the demon should be killed. The cancer must be cut out."

Before Alistair could jump in, I turned to Sten, "We need the boy's father. We'll be in a better position if we can help the kid."

Sten fixed me with a hard stare, "And if we can't?"

I knew the answer immediately, but it actually took me a few moments to answer. "Then I'll be the one to kill him."

I could see Alistair go pale at the thought. The Qunari nodded, "Very well, Kadan."

Alistair sighed and seemed to be over whatever nausea my comment caused, "So there has to be a reason it's only the four of us. I presume you have a plan?"

I nodded, "Isolde had a soldier with her. It's a safe to say there might be more of them with the kid. If they attack, defend yourselves. Aside from that, just be yourselves." In truth I had preferred to go alone, but I wasn't arrogant enough to believe I could take out a squad of soldiers single-handedly. I'd have to trust in Sten and Alistair for this.

As we came to the doorway of the Main hall, I thought back to Tristan's lessons. The first was for the demon to force their way into a Mage's body. In this method the demon would gain the same strength they had in the Fade, but the human's body would become twisted and would turn into what we called _abominations_. In this method, the vessel became nothing more than a walking corpse, having died during the mental battle with the demon.

The second method was for the demon to make a deal with the Mage. The demon would take control of the Mage's body, be able to hide in an actual human looking body. In this form they would benefit, not only by the ability to blend in, but also by the ability to feed on the vessel's magical prowess and emotions. They had the potential to become. I believed the demon was using the latter method to control Connor. I hoped so anyway.

Another thing I learned from Tristan was that demons fed off, and gain power from, certain emotions. It was the Key to there strength, but it could also be their greatest weakness.

Walking into the Great Hall, we came to a stop in front of Teagan, who was surprisingly nimble, Isolde, some soldiers, and a boy, who I assumed was Conner. Glancing to the side, I could see the window Perth had referred to. It was high, much to high for even Sten's impressive height. If we needed back up, I'd need to hit it with a spell. The boy looked at us and gestured for Teagan to stopped his acrobatics. **"So these are our visitors. The ones you told me about."**

Isolde was looking down the entire time, "Y-yes Connor." My hunch was right. Connor was possessed.

He looked straight at me, **"And this is the one who defeated my soldiers, the ones I sent to reclaim my village?"**

Isolde nodded, "Yes"

"**And now it's staring at me! What is it mother, I can't see it well enough?"**

While the Isolde started talking, I began going over anything else I could use against demons. Unfortunately, if I wanted the boy to live, my list was rather limited.

"Grey Warden…please don't hurt my son! He's not responsible for what he does!" Isolde begged. The woman's plea actually brought forth a sense of nostalgia as I thought about my mother. So long ago…I quickly glanced around the room and knew that the soldiers, and Teagan had to go. Either they needed to be unconscious or dead. Glancing back at Isolde, I knew the woman might be my greatest asset here, despite the fact that the majority of what happened was clearly her fault. I just needed to make sure she was in the right mind set.

"So **he** is the evil force you spoke of."

"No, don't say that! Connor didn't mean to do this! It was that mage, the one who poisoned Eamon – he started all this! He summoned this demon! Connor was just trying to help his father!" Connor was trying to help Arl Eamon? So that was the deal the kid made. That could actually work in our favor.

As Connor continued talking I mentally went over my plan. After a few moments Connor announced that I would have the audience I seek and asked me why I came to see the Arl of Redcliffe. I just grinned at the kid, "Me? No reason. I think I'll just leave."

"**My, my. How rude! What shall I do mother—What!"** Connor exclaimed when he realized I had just trapped him in a Forcefield.

Running forward, I yelled, "Take out the soldiers!" I ran at Teagan, just as the man stood and reached for his weapon. I cocked my fist back and threw it at the Bann, simultaneously casting Rock Armor. The effect was Teagan falling over, with a bruise on his face that wouldn't be going away any time soon. My tactic was crude, but I couldn't do much, since I never bothered learning the Sleep spell. I turned to see Sten cut down one of the soldiers and move to another. Alistair was busy dueling his own opponent, and Liam had overwhelmed one of them and was in the process of finishing the poor man off. Within moments, the battle was over. And just in time for my Forcefield to wear off.

"**How dare you!"**

"You're a Desire Demon." I smirked at the shocked look on his face, "You aren't getting any power from that kid, are you?"

Isolde, who had hid in the corner the moment the fighting had started, stood up to and looked at the two of us.

"You haven't even bothered using any magic, so it's obvious that your not getting anything from the kid except an anchor on this side of the Veil." The look on _Connor's _face actually made me grin. "Makes sense really. What is that kid, nine or ten years old? He probably doesn't even understand the concept of desire. And his contract, was to help his father, his _desire_ to help his father was for _love _something you clearly have no affinity over." Which is clearly why he decided to enslave others to do his dirty work for him. He controlled them through their desires. Since I was a Mage, he wouldn't be able to control me nearly as easily as he did the others. That just left the other four to worry about. "Connor…she's weak."

_Connor _snarled at me, **"I am not-"**

I hit it with a Mind Blast to shut it up and continued talking. "She got nothing from your contract and she's getting nothing from you. She has no thralls to feed off of, you gotta fight her. For both your mother and your father."

Isolde seemed to grow a spine at this and ran over to Connor, holding onto the front of his clothes. "Baby, fight this thing, please!"

Connor's body looked up, towards Isolde, "You don't hate me for being a Mage?" was the question that came from the boy's mouth. Isolde actually looked at him in horror and I mentally sighed, remembering Jowan's words. The words that Isolde was a pious woman, didn't immediately translate to _I hate mages_, in my head. And if what Alistair's statement was to go by, she was probably very vocal of that little fact. Unfortunately, the demon seemed to shake off my spell at this time. It quickly wrapped his tiny hands around the woman's neck, **"Enough! I'll use you!"** I quickly raised my hand to stop Alistair and Sten from moving to attack. A few moments went by and nothing happened. I hit the, currently, dominant mind with another Mind Blast, knocking the boy to his feet. I'd have to talk quickly.

"If you could have taken her, you would have done it already." Glancing at the woman, I thought about how best to phrase my next sentence. "How could you hope to control her? Sure, she's a total bitch-" Isolde looked like she had just been slapped in the face at that comment. "-but she's clearly filled with nothing but worry over her son. That's something you will never know-" a hint of nostalgia hit me. "-the kind of unconditional love a parent could have for their child. She may hate mages, she could never hate her child." My parents were the same way. I was only seven when I last saw them, but I can clearly remember how poorly they talked about my kind. Even then, when I showed signs, they tried to fight the Templars off to keep them from taking me. My final memory of my mother was her, restrained by a Templar, screaming for them not to take me.

"Mother…"

Isolde's eyes widened and she ran over to Connor, grabbing onto him, "Connor."

"**Get away from me, fool woman!"** the demon pushed the woman away, and got to his feet. As I prepared to hit it again, the demon looked pass me. **"I'll take you!" **

Looking back, I could see Sten flinch for a moment. I looked back at the demon, not even worried. Sten was quick to shake it off and stand up straight, though his hand did wrap around Asala. "Duty is the only thing that fills that one. You won't get any desire out of him." Morrigan, much to my displeasure and annoyance, had tried that. She was refused, in a rather comical manner. The only thing that Sten desired was his lost sword, which he was now holding. I smirked at the demon's shocked expression. "You could try the blonde, but he's about as innocent as the kid your possessing."

"Hey!"

Ignoring Alistair, I continued my taunt. I gestured towards, Liam, whom was at my feet. "You could try the dog, I'm sure he's currently desiring a pork bone." I hit the demon with another Mind Blast. I knew I had to keep it unbalanced, or it might get enough mental ability to forcibly materialize it's body on this side of Veil. Not only would be forced to fight a likely powerful opponent, but it would have the unfortunate side effect of killing Connor.

"Connor, you have to fight it, please! I love you Connor, fight it!" Isolde continued. I guess she figured me using Mind Blasts was the best chance to get through to her son.

"Mother?", the boy said weakly.

"Fight it Connor!" Isolde screamed.

"I…can't-**Enough!"** the demon looked at Alistair and tried to take him as well. This time I actually was worried. Despite Alistair's Templar training, he had been fooled by a demon before. Though that Demon was obviously much stronger than this one we're facing now. Luckily, he seemed to shake off the demon as well. I hit it with another Mind Blast, and Isolde once again started talking to Connor. This was it. It had to know I was quickly running out of options. It would either have to take over Connor completely, or try to find a new host. The only question was what it would do? In a few moments, I had my answer. **"You're strong, and you're full of desire"**, it grinned at me.

Hearing Alistair call my name, I once again gestured them both back. A moment later my body slumped to the floor. My mind was in the Fade.

-xXx-

I opened my eyes and quickly jumped to my feet, just barely avoiding a lightning strike that might have ended the fight before it even began. I smiled at the Desire Demon that stood in front of me. It took the bait. Now it was only a matter of fending it off. I paused a moment to look at the thing in front of me. It looked…weak. It's hair, and by that I meant the fire that made up it's hair, had gone out. It seemed barely able to stand. Perfect, I thought with a smirk. I quickly activated my Rock Armor and reinforced myself with an Arcane Shield.

It was weakened, and though I knew I couldn't make it any weaker, I knew my thoughts could possibly strengthen it. I thought back to my mother, to my father, to Tristan. It's power came from Lust, so I just needed to reinforce my thoughts with those that I Loved. It shot another Lightning Bolt at me, though that was deflected thanks to my Shield. I quickly activated Spell Might. I'd finish the damn thing off with one Crushing Prison. I continued thinking about my loved ones. I thought about Morrigan…

And then the demon exploded. Wait…it exploded? "What the?" I asked, no one in particular. I stood ready, prepared to cast myself, as the smoke from the explosion began to fade away. But it wasn't a Desire Demon that stood in front of me. It was…or looked, clearly feminine. Her skin was pale yet, unlike that of the Desire Demon, resembled that of a human. Her hair was looked human as well. It was blonde. She stood up and began looking at herself. She was also naked…

Blushing, I quickly replaced the thoughts and shielded my mind. My shield and armor was up, my spells were stronger, and I was seconds away from crushing this thing like a bug. Yet…

I don't know what possessed me to ask, but I just had to know, "What are you?"

The Desire Demon, turned woman, stopped examining herself to look at me for the first time. Purple eyes, stared back at my Green ones. Then, in a voice similar to that of Spirits and Demons, she answered me.

"**I am Love."**

-xXx-

I woke up to see Liam, Alistair, and Sten all gazing back at me. I suppressed a chuckle when Liam started licking my face, "Enough, Liam!" When he finally let me, I managed to stand back up. Alistair's hand was at his sword, glaring at me.

"You're…not a demon."

I glared right back at him, "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

He braced himself, "You're different. Something's inside you."

Sighing, I shrugged, "Yea. I'll have to talk to Wynne and Morrigan about it after I have some time to think."

"Well tell me now!" Alistair all but commanded. Looks like he finally decided to grow a backbone.

"Short version…I have a Spirit of Love inside of me."

Alistair and Sten both shared a glance before looking at me. "Tell us the long version."

The thing changed into…something else while I was fighting it. I looked around for Isolde and Connor, but found only Teagan who was beginning to get back up. "The mother took the child Kadan. When that thing left, she didn't want to risk it jumping back into the boy."

I nodded, "Probably for the best."

"Umm…not to complain or anything, but could we get back to the Spirit of Love that's correctly inside you!" Alistair said. Couldn't blame him.

"Best I can say is feel it out Alistair. Use your Templar training. Do I feel like an abomination to you?"

Alistair looked long and hard at me before answering, "You don't feel…demon-y."

"Good…like I said, I'll talk with Wynne and Morrigan later." I was tired…and my talk with the Spirit of Love hadn't help.

"One question Kadan." Sten began and I nodded to him. "Even if it is now, as you say, a Spirit, why are you letting it stay? Why not evict it from you mind."

"Oh, good question, why?"

Glancing between Sten and Alistair I just shrugged, knowing they wouldn't like the answer. "Short version: she started to cry when I asked her to leave."

They both glanced at me before once again, glancing between themselves. Alistair was the first to speak, "Can you give us the long version?"

Seeing that Teagan had finally gotten up, though was obviously still woozy, I moved pass the two. "Not now." I needed to clear my mind, think about what I was going to do about the Spirit of Love, but first I'd need to deal with what's happened here. "Sten, please call the others."

Hearing a grunt behind me, I heard the giant move out. Alistair and Liam came up behind me. I tried not to look at the horrible bruise on the side of Teagan's face, before asking if he was alright.

"Better…I'm myself again." He shook his head. "Where's Isolde?"

Opening my mouth to answer, I stopped when I heard a crash, and the sound of glass shattering. The four of us turned to see Sten standing under the window…or what was left of it. Alistair voiced all of our thoughts, "What are you doing?"

Sten shrugged, "The window breaking was to be the sign for the others to enter the Castle."

Sighing, I quickly looked around the room we were in. That window was way to high up for Sten to break without throwing something at it. I just hoped he hadn't thrown one of the dead soldiers through it.

-xXx-

"He has a Spirit inside of him."

The moment those words left Alistair's lips, I had six pairs of eyes me. A moment later, I glared at the would-be Templar. "Alistair!"

The only other Grey Warden just put his arms out defensively, "You said, you'd tell them."

"After I had thought about it!"

Alistair shrugged, "You've had a couple hours."

"During which I was busy talking with Teagan and Perth! I didn't have time to do any thinking, on the matter." I wanted to smack Alistair at that moment.

"Well, I started to get worried when you demanded money from Teagan."

"Demanded? I didn't demand anything from Teagan. I just told him that we needed money and asked him to spare us some. Not like _they're_ endanger of going hungry! Isolde should have readily offered us supplies anyway!"

Alistair sighed, "Probably didn't because you called her a bitch…"

Team Mom, aka Wynne, decided to finally interrupt us, "What is this of Spirits? Didn't you destroy the demon?"

Sighing, I told them the story of what happened. By the end of it, I had several different reactions.

"You play with dangerous things, I hope you know what you are getting into." Morrigan was obviously unhappy by the arrangement. Though whether because I made a deal with a spirit or because I made a deal with a spirit of love, I didn't know.

"Puh…magic." Ohgren muttered before turning and walking off.

"You are perhaps the first man, to have a woman inside of him." Zevran said with a grin. That would be the reason I didn't bring him with me. If the demon fed off of Zevran's desire, she'd probably have enough strength to crush the castle.

"Why spirits would choose to inhabit soft squishy things is beyond me." I actually agreed with Shale's comment. Though I personally didn't think Shale could be possessed, I really didn't want to take the chances of a demon possessed Golem. The very thought made me ill.

"Oh, how romantic! To think that you are enchanted with a Spirit of Love. You will truly defeat the Arch Demon with the Power of Love!" Leliana said with a dazed expression. Looking pass Leliana, I saw Morrigan making a gagging noises. Didn't help that I was also hearing Alistair chuckle from behind me.

Wynne, waited until I was alone to speak with me. She was surprisingly open-minded about the whole thing…but had one word of caution. "Are you sure that what you are dealing with is in fact, a spirit? Demons have been known to be deceptive."

I nodded my head. "Alistair agrees that whatever is inside of me, isn't a Demon." Wynne nodded, before telling me to continue meditating. She said she'd be keeping a closer eye on me…probably not the best thing for what I had planned tonight. Walking over to Morrigan's _private_ campsite, which was always set up a few meters away from the main one, I saw down next to the fire. Shutting my eyes, I thought about what occurred thoughtout the days.

Not ten minutes later, I felt a weight lean in on me from behind, and a pair of lips slowly trace up and down my neck and jaw-line. We always began our little sessions in the same manner, so I decided to enjoy the feeling and wait for her to say her line. I didn't have to wait long.

"'Tis so cold in my tent, all alone."

I smiled at her line, or maybe at the feeling of her lips, I wasn't quite sure. "Then get a thicker blanket."

She started to rub my shoulders. How she got so good at that was beyond me, considering she spent the majority of her life with no one but Flemeth. Oh maker, I quickly shook my head at that. Bad thoughts, bad thoughts! "I was thinking of something much warmer than a blanket."

It took me a moment until I was able to continue our little game, "Well, why didn't you say so…" Her hands went under the collar of my circle robes and she started raking her nails on my chest. I felt my desire build up. My eyes widened.

I jumped to my feet and away from Morrigan, scaring her at the same moment. "What's wrong?" she asked, probably assuming I sensed darkspawn, or something.

I looked at her, with shock and shame in my eyes. I was panting, as sweat ran down my face. "I don't think I can do this…"

"What?"

I answered, "I don't think I can do this with you tonight."

She smiled and stood, walking towards me with the grace of a cat. "And why not, you've done an admirable job at in the past."

Once again, I jumped away from her. "No! I'm saying…" I don't know what I was saying. "I don't think I can do this."

"Yes, you've said that several times. You have yet to give me an adequate reason."

It took me a few moments to calm down enough so I could form real thoughts. A few moments later to figure out what I would say. "The Spirit of Love within me, I'm not sure our time together _won't_ turn her back into a Desire Demon."

She narrowed her eyes at me and threw her arms up, "Oh for the love of…"

"Yea."

"This is ridiculous."

"Yea, but…" an idea formed in my head. I smiled up at Morrigan, thinking I found the answer to our problem. Pure desire was a bad thing…but what if what we were doing was an act of Love. "Morrigan, I love you."

"What?" she looked confused.

"I love you." I said, walking closer to her. "I've loved you for a long time now." There was something to be said about a woman who could freeze half a dozen darkspawn and look absolutely gorgeous while doing so. Morrigan was…she was…

"And now, you've gone and spoiled the mood", she said as she pushed me away.

"What, b-b-ut." What just happened?

"You may leave now." She waved me off and got in her tent.

I just stood there, looking at her for several more moments before asking the only question I managed to articulate. "What?"

Through her tent, I heard my love speak, "The moment is gone, our little dance of _desire_ will not happen tonight. You've ruined it. Go away."

Once again, I stood there for several moments, just staring at her tent. After a few minutes, I hoped it was only a few minutes but I kinda lost all perception of time, I turned and began walking to the main camp and my own tent. During my walk, which I found to be exceedingly long, I could feel eight pairs of eyes on me. Maker, why weren't any of them asleep? Only Zevran and Shale were supposed to be on watch at this time.

I sat down in front of my tent, still feeling a few pairs of eyes on me. Feeling a hand on me, I looked up to see Zevran smiling at me. "Fear not my friend. We all lose the battle of the sexes sometimes." He patted me on the shoulder and walked back to his position. Good thing he did to, I wanted to throw fire at him.

Laying back I thought about the Spirit of Love. We were supposed to speak again when I entered the Fade. All I could think was…the damn thing better be worth it.

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A/N: Hope it came out alright. The idea has been in my head for a while. I actually doubt I'll continue it, sad to say that.**

**Please let me know what you think. Review. Wait…let me turn on my Blood Magic. ****REVIEW!**


	2. Temptation

**Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age Origins.**

**A/N: I honestly had no intention of continuing this story, but after an overwhelming response, about five people, I decided to add another chapter, lol. Honestly, after what happened between the Warden and Morrigan, I felt like torturing my Warden a bit more. That and the Demo for DA2 has inspired my muse. By the title of this chapter, you should guess what kind of things will be in the chapter. Pretty sure I should still be all right with a T-rating.**

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Chapter 2: Temptation**

I had already decided that I hated Denerim. We came here looking for Brother Genitivi, but he wasn't in. We only found his assistant. Or the man who claimed to be his assistant. The smell of a rotting corpse drew us to the back room, which caused 'Weylon' to attack us. After dispatching him, we found a dead body, who we assumed to be the real Weylon. We also found notes that mapped out a small town named Haven. We'd have to go there to look for Genitivi, but first we decided buy more supplies and fix our equipment. The latter, unfortunately, was going to keep us here for a few days. I decided I'd find a way to raise some money, while we waited, which lead me to a man named Kylon. He was a Soldier who was charged with keeping the peace in Denerim Market…and having a lot of trouble doing so. He asked for our help and we accepted. It's what led Leliana, Zevran, Liam, and myself to the Pearl. And also what lead us to Isabela.

After seeing her, single-handedly, duel and disarm three men, I decided to talk with her. Apparently, her and Zevran knew each other from somewhere. I asked about her fighting style and she mentioned it was only something someone with a certain finesse could learn. People like Leliana or Zevran. I asked if she'd be willing to teach it, and she agreed…for a price. She wanted Leliana, Zevran, and me to come back to her ship with her and…yea.

Thinking about Love, I politely refused her. Shrugging, she grabbed Leliana, whom seemed much more receptive. She also grabbed another nearby woman, a pretty blonde elf who seemed to be in the employ of the Pearl. I nearly choked when I was Isabela's hand reach down to grab the elf's behind. Isabela looked over her shoulder before saying, "Come along Zevran. You wouldn't want to miss out on my _lesson_, would ya?"

The elf grinned, "Of course not!" Zevran followed the ladies out the door, but not before fixing me with a triumphant smile. Asshole.

Once again alone, cold, _tense_, with only the dog as my companion. I cringed as I started walking out the door, hoping no one would bug me. But as luck would have it Sanga, the owner of the Pearl, decided to stop me and make small talk. "That was curious, you not into the ladies or I suspect you'd jump at the chance to be with Isabela, my Lya, and that pretty red head." She got a thoughtful look on her face for a moment. "You can't be into men, _I_ nearly jumped that elf when I first saw him, and you basically denied him as well. So where do your tastes run", she looked down.

I followed her line of sight to Liam, wondering what she was getting at. My eyes, widened when it finally clicked. "NO! NO WAY! I'll have you know, I like woman, thank you very much!"

She fixed me with a strange look before asking, "Then, if I may ask, why didn't you sow your wild oats?"

I don't actually know why I humored her with an answer, or why I kept talking with the old woman at all. Perhaps it was my upbringing that ingrained into me a respect for the elderly that I didn't want to just ignore. In the end, I just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, so I just shrugged and replied, "Love."

Sanga actually snorted at that before gesturing towards a table. A large group of men were crowding around a pretty Elf, whom was lying on the table. "That blonde man is in love. He's engaged to the 'love of his life'. That didn't stop him from taking a shot of brandy out of my girl's belly button."

"That can't be hygienic", was my reply

"That's besides the point", she snapped at me. Before seemingly thinking something over in her mind. "Look, since you're probably going to have to wait for your friends, how about you let one of my girls keep you company. I'll give you a special discount."

I felt the beginning of a headache forming. These people had to know what was going on between the Spirit and me. That was the only explanation that made sense. Half the country was trying to kill me; the other half was trying to tempt me into getting myself possessed by a Desire Demon. It all made sense now.

Declining her offer, I quickly left he Pearl and decided to just return to the Gnarled Noble Tavern. Had I become so damn pathetic that a random person, who was supposed to be just a client, decided to try and get me laid? In the end, it didn't matter. I left. Once again feeling cold, alone, _tense, _with only the dog as my companion. But this time I felt shame…lots and lots of shame.

-xXx-

I stopped by Sgt. Kylon and reported the success of my mission. He gave me another one that happened to be at the Gnarled Noble, so I took it. I reached the tavern and immediately went towards the rooms we had reserved for our group. I asked Sten and Shale to follow me back to the bar and talked to the leader of the little mercenary band. They were actually quite receptive towards my request to leave. I _don't_ have the faintest idea why… Either way, I returned to my room and grabbed a few things, before walking towards the baths for our rooms. I figured a quick bath to wash some of the grime off would be just the right thing. I walked in…

Just as Morrigan wasn't getting out of the tub. The one towel she had with her was currently being used to dry her hair. When she saw me, she immediately grinned. "See something you like?" I walked out of the room, out the Gnarled Noble Tavern, and towards the Chantry. Liam followed after me.

Once again feeling cold, alone, _**TENSE**__,_ shame,with only the dog as my companion. "Woof!" I turned just in time to see Liam trot after another Mabari hound that, by the way Liam was wagging his tail around, I presumed to be female. Glaring at the dog, I could only say, "Traitor", before continuing my trek.

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A/N: Much shorter than my first chapter, but please let me know what you think. Please REVIEW!**


	3. Spirit Magic

**Disclaimor: I don't own Dragon Age Origins. **

**A/N: Less comedy in this chapter and more action. Next chapter will probably be a lot funnier. Let me know what you think.**

**Oh, and the first two parts of this chapter takes place between Chapter 1 and 2. The second part takes place after chapter 2. Just keep that in mind.**

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Chapter 3: Spirit Magic**

After what happened it took me hours to finally asleep. I had feared that I'd stay awake all the way to my turn on watch. It was so bad that I nearly yelped for joy when I found myself in the fade. I was more than a little happy to see that she finally found some clothes to wear. Nothing extravagant, just a red and white version of the Circle Mage's robe.

She acknowledged my presence with a small smile, **"You have returned."**

"I have", I replied, keeping my answer short and precise. A moment passed and neither of us said anything, so I figured I might as well be the one to break the ice. "I'm sure you saw what happened." Spirits were supposed to be able to look through Mage's eyes right?

"**With the one that is like you. You feared your moment of Lust would…revert me into what I was before."**

"Her name is Morrigan, and the people like us are called Mages. But no, I actually wanted to talk about what Wynne said. Wynne's another mage by the way." I stared hard at her. "Out of all my companions, I thought she'd be the first to demand I evict you from my mind." That had actually shocked me quite a bit. Wynne was…didn't seem like she would be very open minded in this respect. Yet she seemed willing to give the Spirit a chance. There was just the one question she asked, one that had me wondering, "A few of us think you might still be a Desire Demon…using this disguise. A demon turning into a demon is…not something most of us mortals know of."

She looked away from me, as if I had just struck her. **"I did horrible things. I exploited a child's love for his father. All the mortals I killed, left behind many who loved them. I'm…"** She looked down and seemed to be…crying? Do spirits Cry? I've heard a lot about Spirits during my apprenticeship at the Circle, but the first time I actually met one was during my Harrowing. Valor didn't seem to be the type to cry. In fact he seemed to be the type to stab things that upset him. The fact that he looked like he wore Templar armor was not lost on me. I didn't get any proof that the Spirit before me wasn't still a Desire Demon, but if she was a demon I had to commend her acting abilities. I was starting to believe her.

"Let's back up to the thing with Morrigan. Will something like that cause you to transform back into a demon?"

She looked back at me with a sad expression. **"I don't know. I've never known of a Spirit that's like I am now."**

I frowned at that I wasn't getting any clear answers. "Do you know what I'm doing right now…Love?"

"**You're fighting those creatures you call Darkspawn. They are terrorizing your country. They're destroying families." **She looked down, **"Destroying those that love each other."**

I nodded at her, "Yea. I'm doing something very important…something very dangerous. And the last thing I need is for a Demon to make a grab for my body the second I have drop my guard down. I need a clear answer if you want to stay."

Once again she looked down. **"I don't have a clear answer for you. I am…I still feel weak. I've only been like this for a short while. I do know that what you are trying to achieve is Just…" **She looked at me, fire in her eyes. **"Those creatures…those who attack and shatter families need to be halted. I would like to be with you. To make sure you are able to do so. Perhaps I can make myself useful to you."**

I raised an eyebrow at that last part, "How could you be useful?"

"**Perhaps if you face another demon trying to attack you." **Left unsaid was that I thought it was just as likely that she'd revert back to her original form and help the demon kill me. **"But I don't want to return to the Fade. It's nothing like your realm. There's no warmth, no song…no love."** I was beginning to understand why Spirits of Love weren't common. Sighing I resigned myself to her presence.

"Very well."

-xXx-

Our next destination was Denerim. We hadn't heard anything regarding the Dalish Elves, the last Contract we had, so I thought it'd be best to look for Brother Genitivi. On our journey there, I finally found out why Wynne was okay with a spirit riding around in my body. She had one as well. She said it was a spirit of Faith. Back at the Circle she had defended one of her apprentices against a demon, at the cost of her life, but the spirit managed to save her life. It was also the only thing keeping her alive at the moment.

What was more impressive was the fact that she had actually called upon the spirit in battle. We had been ambushed by a group of Darkspawn. An Emissary's Fireball caught us off guard and the horde nearly killed us. Wynne called upon the power of the Spirit, which immediately disorientated the Darkspawn around us, and then began healing us. It was a grueling battle, but with Wynne at the top of her game we managed to overcome our ambushers.

After seeing her work, I immediately wondered if Love and I could pull off the same move. Unfortunately, according to Wynne, doing so meant that I had to completely open up to Love. Which meant that I needed to give a Spirit, whom I wasn't sure wasn't a demon, full access to my body and mind. I think my exact words were, "Why don't I just start spouting out a list of famous last words."

I nearly whacked Alistair when he started doing just that.

Unfortunately, I soon found myself in a bad position.

-xXx-

Bhelen told me that it would take a few months to get the army of dwarves ready for battle on the surface, but that he could mobilize a small expedition, within a few weeks, to prove and solidify our alliance. I showed him a map of the surface and pointed out Redcliffe in particular. I told him to wait for my message before send out his forces. I knew it was presumptuous of me to automatically assume Eamon would help us, but what can I say, I didn't know what else to tell him at the moment. Not like there was a class, at the Circle, for leading a ragtag army during a Civil War. I figured I could always send Bhelen a different location if things went south.

So, after the events of Redcliffe, I sent Bhelen a message to send his forces. I also sent a message to the Circle, telling Irving to do the same. Luckily, Teagan was more than happy to lend me a few of his messengers. With that little issue over with, my group headed for Denerim. We didn't find brother Genitivi, but we did find where he was heading to, a small town in the mountains named Haven. After a few days at Denerim, mostly spent waiting for our equipment to be repaired, we left for Haven. I could safely say that Denerim was…just a very bad place. Definitely worse than the Circle. The only benefit, aside from getting our armor fixed, to going their was that I managed to find a First Enchanter's Robe on sale to replace my tattered Circle Mage's Robe. Sure, they smelled like an apothecary, but they were twice as good as what I had been wearing. Though, Wynne actually snorted when I first showed up wearing them. _"Getting a little ahead of ourselves, are we?"_ she had said. My reply was to stuck my tongue out at her in reply. We left Denerim after Master Wade finished Leliana's daggers, the last pieces of equipment needing repair.

Passing by Redcliffe, we found that the expedition of Dwarves had arrived, led by a man named Frandlin Ivo. _Most_ of the Dwarves, anyway. According to General Ivo, _"A sodding group of dust brained, brontos' asses got separated on the trip over here." _On our way from Redcliffe to Haven, I managed to find the group of Dwarves that he mentioned. Unfortunately…

I found the squad, three shy of a dozen, finishing off a group of Darkspawn, while an Ogre hurled boulders at them from a nearby hill. My eyes narrowed when I saw another dozen Darkspawn, led by a second Ogre, charging the Dwarves. "Help the Dwarves! Liam, with me!" I ran towards the first Ogre, with my trusty Mabari dog at my heels. I'd just need to take out the Ogre, and then I could shoot a volley of spells at the Darkspawn, from the same hill. I'd just need to take out the two ton Ogre. I'd just need to take out the two ton Ogre whom was currently hurling boulders twice my weight. Maker damn it!

I smacked it with a Mind Blast, just as it tried to pick up another boulder. While that happened, Liam charged the Ogre and started biting at it's heels. Unfortunately, my spell lasted only a second, which took us both by surprise, and the Ogre managed to sucker punch Liam away. "You bastard!" I yelled as I sent my right fist forward, firing a Stone Fist at the Ogre. Despite the fact that I nailed it in the face, the Ogre barely seemed to feel a thing. I activated Spell Might and extended my right arm out, hand open. Concentrating telekinetic energy out, I closed my right hand, casting a Crushing Prison around the Ogre. That managed to stop the Giant in it's tracks.

A quick glance in Liam's direction, to confirm he was still alive, before I looked back at Ogre in front of me. Green energy gathered around my right hand as I prepared to poison the fiend with a Walking Bomb. Unfortunately, I failed to notice the boulder that landed right next to me before it was too late. The shockwave sent me to my feet and my vision blurred when I hit my head. Looking down hill, I saw the other Ogre staring at me. The damn thing had actually acted to help it's fellow Ogre. I winced when I felt a hand wrap around me. The one I had been fighting, picked me up and brought me close to its face. I heard Liam barking as it ran in our direction, but the Ogre didn't pay him any attention. It just looked at me before roaring.

I'm not sure what happened next. A wide range of emotions swam through chest and numerous faces from my past flew through my mind's eye. The final face in my head was…it was…

I smiled…

Whether it was by instinct or by Love's interference I'm unsure, but the next thing I know an aura of purple energy engulfs me. And then the Ogre squeezed me as hard as it could. My skin became hard as rock as I instinctively activated my Rock Armor. After failing to crush me for several seconds, the Ogre finally gave up and decided to just roared at me again. Thinking up a different strategy, I raised my left arm, since my dominant hand was pinned to my body by the Ogre, and touched it to the Ogre's fist. Green energy surrounded my hand as my Walking Bomb spell took affect. The thing roared before letting me drop to the ground and clutching its hand. I could see the veins in his infect arm light up a pale green color, as my magical poison swam through its body. It was actually kinda funny to see a Darkspawn being poisoned…all things considered. The purple aura around me intensified as I, once again, activated Spell Might. Gathering telekinetic energy, I once again hit it with a Crushing Prison.

I wasn't done yet. I raised my right arm; fist closed up, and pointed it towards the sky above. The Ogre gasped as it was actually lifted off the ground, still being squeezed by the Crushing Prison. Glancing past it, I could see the second Ogre lifting another boulder, looking in my direction. So I threw the ensnared Ogre at it. The one I threw crashed into the second…and then the first one exploded, sending the second one, and it's boulder, flying back several yards. The first Ogre was finally dead, and the second one wasn't getting back up. It was at that moment when I noticed seventeen pairs of eyes staring at me, emotions ranging across the spectrum.

The glow receded, my armor deactivated, and I fell to my knees, my power drained. My breathing came out in ragged breaths. Liam trotted up next to me, cocking his head to the side, he whimpered at me.

My skin was on fire, my eyes were heavy, my throat felt like I swallowed glass, and I felt like I could sleep all the way through to my Calling. Still I managed to smile at him, "I'm fine boy…I'm fine…"

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A/N: Already have plans for another chapter, which should be done by the weekend. **

**Pure action isn't really my thing, but I hope this chapter came out alright. Please let me know, the review button is right there.**


	4. Love's Interference

**Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon age Origins.**

**A/N: Wow...response for that last chapter was so terrible I'm starting to think i offended someone. Ouch. Anyway, less action in this one and A LOT more comedy. Hope you guys enjoy it.**

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Chapter 4: Love's Interference**

I found the Spirit of Love to be both a use in battle and a hindrance for just about everything else. When I called upon the Spirit in battle, she doubled my natural abilities. When Wynne called upon her Spirit of Faith, her healing abilities went up to the same level. Pity that I didn't specialize as a healer…Wynne and I could have probably taken care of Arl Eamon together and avoided climbing up that damn mountain. Using the Spirit did have it's downside though. Using our respective spirits left us both exhausted afterwards, to the point that it took us about a minute before we could even walk. Aside from the exhaustion, we could only keep the link up for _so_ long. So, aside from some training, we both decided to only become a _Vessel of the Spirit_ during extreme emergencies.

Unfortunately, those weren't the only side effects. Since the moment Love and I connected that first time, Love has had the ability to make her presence known to those around me…by speaking through me. Honestly, I was just thankful that she didn't seem to have the ability to control my body, unless I actually called upon her through our connection. Luckily, the first few times it occurred, it only happened during a conversation with Wynne, one with Alistair, and later one with Morrigan. Though the latter one was probably the worse, since the witch seemed to hold a grudge against the spirit, neither of those instances seemed to be particularly…horrible. Just light conversation between Love, speaking through my mouth, and whoever it was I was currently conversing with.

Things began to get progressively worse with Ohgren…

-x Ohgren x-

Back at camp, a few hours after we got back from the Temple of Andraste, I had just finished my meditations when Ohgren walked up to me. I suppressed the urge to groan when I saw the bottle of alcohol in his hand. Honestly, if getting drunk affected his fighting skills at all, I'd have to prohibit him from drinking. But, even Sten agrees his abilities only increased whilst intoxicated, so it would be stupid of me to try and put a stop to his drinking. Sadly, him being drunk without anything to keep his mind occupied, led to awkward situations. Awkward situations like him coming up to me and accusing Liam of stealing his pants…that had actually been a funny one.

_I just stared at the Dwarf in front of me before saying, "Ohgren…you're wearing your pants."_

_Ohgren growled at that, "Yea, but he doesn't know that! I'll get that little…" and then Ohgren fainted._

"Hey, Warden."

I sighed in relief when he first spoke. At least he seemed sober enough to speak clearly. "Need something Ohgren?"

"You and me have known each other for a while right?" A feeling of dread suddenly washed over me. I'm not sure if it was a magical premonition or a sixth sense that developed over the course of my journey, but I always got that same feeling whenever someone was about to ask me for a favor, which happened **a lot**. About a minute of skirting around the topic before he finally started making sense. "Well, after Branka left me back at Orzammar, there was this girl I knew."

I grinned up at him. "A girl you knew, or a girl you **knew**."

"What? Are you asking if we ever…hehe, aye." He laughed. I was glad to hear he hadn't wasted every moment of those two years pining over Branka. He took another swig of alcohol before continuing, an act that wasn't lost on me. "She's probably forgiven me by now."

There was definitely a story there, "Do you know where she is?"

"Last I heard she was working at an inn off of Lake Cleanbad."

Cleanbad? "You mean Lake Calenhad?"

"Hmmm, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure she said Lake Cleanbad, cause I remember thinking clean bad, dirty good. Ahaha!" Ohgren chuckled at that part.

Rolling my eyes, I ignored his little mnemonic. I never heard about any lakes named Cleanbad, so I'd have to go by the assumption that she had said Calenhad. Unfortunately, there were over a dozen inns around Lake Calenhad. If we were going to find her, without doing a complete circle around the whole lake, we'd need more information. "Anything else? Anything at all?"

"Hmm…oh! She mentioned she was close to another spot named King's Nut Hold", he finished the sentence by taking another swig of whatever it was he was drinking. "What's a King's Nut anyway, is it tasty?"

I cocked an eyebrow at that. "There's no such thing as a King's Nut…" a quick thought back to King Cailan and I immediately cringed. Bad thoughts, bad thoughts. "I think you mean Kinloch Hold."

Ohgren shook his head at that, "No…I'm pretty sure it was King's Nut Hold, because I remember at first I thought she said, King's Butt H-"

"Alright, I got!" I interrupted, maybe a bit to loudly, seeing as I drew some stares. "The name of the inn should be the Spoiled Princess", I replied, more to myself than Ohgren. "Maybe we could**-We must help this man seek out his love as soon as possible."**

Ohgren's eyes widened a bit. "Hey Warden, your eyes are all glowly…oh never mind."

"Maker damn it, would you stop talking through me!"

"They're glowy again", Ohgren commented.

"**This man lost his true love, yet is still willing to try and create a new bond with another-**that's besides the point! You don't need to get involved, I'll handle it!"

Ohgren took a moment to look at the bottle in his hand, before looking back at the man in front of him.

"**We must go immediately to this King's Nut Hold!-**First off, it's Kinloch Hold and we can't! We got the ashes and we gotta go to Redcliffe before anything else."

Ohgren looked back at the bottle, put his nose to the opening, and took a long sniff of it.

"**This beautiful couples' bonding of Love is something that should be allowed to transpire."** The moment she said that, through _my_ mouth, I cringed. First off, Ohgren isn't someone I would EVER call beautiful…not by a long shot. Second off, I didn't want to think about him taking part in a _bonding of Love_. "It'll have to wait until after Redcliffe!" I snarled back at…well, myself so to speak.

Ohgren turned the bottle upside down and let the remaining liquid pour out, drenching the grass below it.

"**Very well, but this issue MUST be satisfied as soon as possible!"** "Alright, just stop talking through me!" I snapped back. I waited for a moment before sighing in relief. I _had_ to get her to stop doing that. Looking down towards Ohgren, I saw him looking back at me. "We'll stop by after we go to Redcliffe. That sound alright to you?"

"Huh…uhh, yea I…thanks." Ohgren turned and began walking away before suddenly stopping and turning back towards me. "Hey…tomorrow morning when we wake up could you…let me know whether or not this conversation actually happened?"

Sighing, I nodded to the Dwarf. He went back to his bedroll and seemed to go to sleep immediately. The fact that the spirit gave me enough power to lift an Ogre, with my _mind_, was the only thing that was keeping me from seeking an exorcism.

Shrugging to myself, because I no longer only talked to _myself_ I also shrugged when no one else was around, I thought about our future trip to Kinloch Hold. Even if Ohgren hadn't brought it up, I would be a good idea to go there. If the Mage's hadn't arrived at Redcliffe, I'd need to check up on them. I could also see if they would donate some lyrium to our cause…and if asking nicely didn't work, I'd remind them that my companions and I are the only reason the Circle still exists.

-xXx-

In the end, we went to the Spoiled Princess so that Ohgren could hook up with his old flame, Felsi. The fact that I learned that Ohgren once lost a wrestling match to a roasted nug was definitely worth the trip…

Apparently, it was a sodding good roast!

-x Cammen x-

I looked at myself, through the reflection of a nearby lake, and smiled nervously at what I saw. I looked like a freaking Warrior. I traded in my First Enchanter's Robe for a pair of Silverite Scale Armor the moment I got back to the Dalish Camps. I also, mostly on a hunch, took hold of the sword we found in the Temple of Andraste, the Spellweaver. We could barely hold the damn thing at first, it seemed to start vibrating the moment someone tried to, and Bodahn had refused to buy it from us, citing that he had no need for a sword that no one could hold. I finally had my answer as to why though, it was a sword for an Arcane Warrior…and only for an Arcane Warrior.

Back in the ruined temple, while I was solving yet another problem that I was in no way qualified to deal with, I found a phylactery with another spirit inside of it. Long story short, he traded the secrets of becoming an Arcane Warrior, in exchange for a quick death. I was happy enough to oblige. In the temple I tried to scavenge around for whatever armor and weapon I could, to test out my new abilities. I was disappointed to find nothing of use except a pair of rusty grieves. In the end, I decided I'd just wait until I got back to camp, where the rest of our supplies were. I did manage to punch a werewolf, who got to close, in the face, with a combination of Combat Magic and Rock Armor. Knocked the bastard flat on his back. Soon enough we returned to the Dalish camp, and after informing Lanaya of Zathrian's fate, went to the little Camp that we had set up.

Back in camp, I decided to switch out all my equipment with some stuff we had in storage. I was really glad we hadn't gotten around to selling that armor. So there I was, walking around in my shiny new armor while flanked by Zevran, Leliana, Alistair, Sten, and my faithful Mabari hound. I nearly walked into Cammen, a sad looking elf that seemed to be staring off into another campsite. This wouldn't be the first time I had seen him. I passed him once before, when I first arrived at the Dalish Camp. He had been wearing that same exact expression on his face. At that time I asked him what was wrong and if there was something I could do to help. He refused to tell me anything at the time, and I decided not to push the issue. Honestly, I didn't particularly care at the moment, and if he didn't want to talk about it, I figured it was the type of thing he could deal with it on his own. So I just walked away and dealt with the Werewolves. This time, though…

"Lady troubles, my friend?" Zevran asked in a casual tone.

From the way Cammen's face turned red, I knew Zevran had guessed correctly. I glanced at Zevran, before following the Antivan's line of sight to a pretty, young, red headed elf. At Zev's comment, Cammen decided to actually speak to us. Apparently he wanted to be bonded with the girl, which seemed to be the Dalish version of getting married. Unfortunately, Gheyna refused him because he was still just an apprentice Hunter, which most of the Dalish viewed as just a child. I rolled my eyes at that. It was sad how easy his little problem, if it could even be called one, was to fix. All he needed to do, to become a full-fledged hunter, was hunt and kill an animal…ANY animal. Thinking of my issues with Morrigan, she had essentially ended our relationship all those weeks back, I honestly wished it was _that _easy to solve. Then again, I supposed killing just came easier to me. Cammen would probably find my problem: that I could no longer have meaningless sex with the Philophobic woman I loved, as a simple problem to fix. By continuing to have meaningless sex. Then again, my problem was due to a Spirit that was riding around inside of me…not through any sort of physical shortcoming. My eyes widened at that last thought…

What if her supposed desire to avoid any sort of emotional intimacy was actually just her refusal to _bond_ with someone she viewed to have a physical _short_coming. I felt my cheeks burn up at that thought, but quickly shook the thought off. Morrigan was far too blunt to beat around the bush like that, so she probably would have mentioned something if that was the problem.

In the end, I guess Cammen and I were in a similar position, so I could sympathize for him. Pity I didn't bother skinning those wolves I took out during my time in the forest. I had killed like twenty of them and that was just _my_ kill count. If I had skinned them, I could have given him one of the furs and solved the problem right there. Then again, that probably wouldn't have ended well for one reason or another.

After _every_ member of my group gave their opinion, which each one of them _always_ did, I just shrugged at the hunter apprentice and told him, "I wish I could help you kid, but this is really something you need to solve yourself." Cammen actually looked down at that. **"I find that course of action unacceptable." **_All_ of my companions liked to give me their opinions. "Oh Maker, would you please not get involved", I groaned.

It's not everyday that you see someone's eyes glow and then hear them start talking to themselves. All of my companions had seen it at least once by this point. It was probably the Spirit's method of introducing herself I suppose. Cammen, on the other hand, adopted a face of horror. He kept shooting glances towards my companions and shooting wary looks at me between each one. After a long conversation between myself and, as far as any uninformed onlooker was concerned, myself; I conceded to the Spirit. By the end of the Blight, I knew I would either seek an exorcism or therapy.

Cursing under my breath before turning back to Cammen, who was looking quite scared for one reason or another. I glanced back at Alistair and Leliana, "We still have time before we have to leave, would you two be willing to help him hunt. _Don't_ do the job for him, just make sure nothing sneaks up on him and eats him."

Cammen paled, "Eats me?"

Unsurprisingly, both Leliana and Alistair gave a short nod before moving to stand with Cammen. Leliana grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards the Northern forest. No doubt she planned to also assist him by giving him tips in wooing a woman.

Sten snorted behind me, "I hope our companions don't do the job for him Warden. If they rob him of this chance to grow, it could have detrimental consequences for both him and those he hunts with in the future." Agreeing with Sten's reasoning, I just gave him a nod hoping to stave off future dialogue.

"I'm not done yet." I said before the trio could take more than three steps. Everyone was looking at me now, and I looked straight at Cammen before placing my hand on Liam's head. "This", I started scratching behind the dog's ear, an act that he greatly enjoyed, "Is a living lie detector. Do NOT let them do the job for you, or there will be consequences."

Cammen's eyes widened, "C-c-consequences?"

I nodded before gesturing towards Zevran. "Zev, I want you to chat up that girl", I said gesturing towards Gheyna. "If he doesn't come back in an hour, I want you to bed her." Cammen, Alistair, and Leliana stared at me in shock.

Zevran grinned and pulled out a pocket watch, "One hour you say?"

"One hour", I confirmed. "Also, if Liam gives you the signal that Cammen let either of these two kill whatever he brings back, you'll have my permission to bed her as well."

Cammen's face paled as he stared down at my Mabari War hound. Zevran glanced at Gheyna, "On a normal day it shouldn't take me an hour, but I'll try to hold off for the sake of our friend here."

Sten nodded in approval. "An acceptable source of motivation for success and honesty. I agree with this course of action."

"**Is this the way to do it? ** Of course…the kid needs to know how to stand on his own two feet before he can start courting a girl." The Spirit of Love seemed satisfied with that response. That was good.

Cammen began to sputter, "Wait-"

"You now, have fifty-nine minutes!" Zevran said as he began walking towards the elven lass.

I just shrugged before walking off, but not before saying, "One way or another, this issue ends in an hour."

-xXx-

Never did find out what happened with Cammen and Gheyna. After I gave out those orders, I started napping and only woke up when Wynne nudged me to. Apparently I had been asleep for a couple of hours. We left immediately after that…Love seemingly placated.

Leliana and Alistair seemed relatively calm, though they kept shooting me dirty looks. Whether it was because Cammen lost or just because I put him in that position, I wasn't sure. Zevran seemed incredibly pleased with himself as well. Once again, I wasn't sure if it was because he bedded Gheyna or because he was satisfied that he helped a fellow elf get together with his true love.

Either way, as I said, the issue was done and over with.

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**A/N: Yes...that is MY version of solving Cammen's problem. Either learn how to freakin' hunt or i'll throw your love to Zevran! HAHAHA!**

**Not as long as my first chapter, but still pretty long. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Anyway, please review. Come one people...SHOW ME THE REVIEWS!  
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	5. The Senior Warden

**Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age Origins. **

**A/N: Next chapter is up. Not really anything funny, sorry to say, but I hope you still enjoy it. Need these filler chapters to move the story along. Plan to do something a little different in this chapter.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy it.**

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Chapter 5: The Senior Warden

I was a damn fool. I couldn't tell myself that enough. I _learned_ a few spells to enhance my physical abilities, to levels that actually put me on par with Sten or Ohgren, and I stupidly thought I was a Warrior. I thought that I was on par with those who spent years, decades in some cases, practicing armed combat.

When we left the Dalish camp, I traded my mage equipment for silver armor, a shield I bought from Bodahn, and an ancient magic sword: the Spellweaver. We came across a man named Levi Dryden, who wanted us to help him reclaim an ancient Warden Fortress. We readily agreed and, together, made our way towards Soldier's Peak. Throughout the journey there, a few of my companions advised me to spar with them and learn how to handle my weapon. Unfortunately, I kept denying them. It wasn't that I wanted to say no, on the contrary I was anxious to try out my new abilities. The thing is, I bought a large quantity of different herbs from Varathorn at the Dalish camp. So Wynne, Morrigan, and I split up the resources and started crafting different potions and salves.

One week later, we had more potions than we knew what to do with, but I still hadn't trained. When we reached Soldier's Peak, I quickly realized how outclassed I was. We eventually ran into two people that shouldn't have been alive. Sophia Dryden's, the former Warden-Commander prior to the exile of the Grey Wardens from Ferelden, corpse was currently inhabited by a demon. The mage Avernus, Sophia's second, stayed alive through forbidden Blood Magic. After learning the horrible secret of the Warden's exile, our group helped Avernus destroy the demon that possessed Sohpia's body.

I flinched at that thought. During the fight, while my companions fought off the undead that Sophia summoned, I tried to rush Sophia and defeat her in melee combat. Within five seconds she knocked me on the ground and it was all I could do to defend myself. My shield had been thrown to the side and a few powerful blows were all that she needed to shatter the Spellweaver. Exhausted and hurt, I actually needed to call upon the spirit to recover enough energy to hit her with a Mind Blast. It was the only thing that kept her from finishing me off. There was one more battle after that, in which we helped Avernus seal a tear in the Veil. It was a battle that I mostly had to sit out from, since Sophia managed to break my shield-bearing arm during the fight.

I was stupid. Wynne had to spend nearly half an hour healing me. Ohgren, of all people, actually reprimanded me for getting into a battle like that so unprepared. Sten, who was the most adamant in me practicing over our weeklong journey, just shot me a dirty look before walking off. After I was fully healed I grabbed Alistair, who was upset that I allowed the old mage to live, and followed Avernus to his tower. I wanted to see if he knew any Warden secrets he could share with us. After all, if we want to stop the Blight with only two Grey Wardens, three if Avernus changes his mind about coming with us, we'd need all the help we could get.

-xXx-

The moment the three of us reached his laboratory, Avernus went to one of his cabinets. He came back with a long pole-arm and held it out for me. "A spear?" I asked.

He shook his head as he, once again, gestured for me to take the weapon. He held out his other hand and as for my staff, which I had unpacked after the battle with Sophia's corpse. "It's not a spear, per say. It's a Mage's Staff that has had a blade attached to it." The shaft was made of a black wood, and was inscribed with numerous faint green characters, written in Tevinter, not unlike the ones that adorned some of the most ancient staffs at the Circle. The blade was a faded green color, most likely crafted out of Veridium. I assumed he acquired this before the rebellion, unless he had some other visitors recently, which didn't seem likely. Pity that Dragons weren't around two hundred years ago…or however long it was that this _staff_ was forged. Though Veridium wasn't bad, it wasn't the best material available, which I might need if I was going to fight the Archdemon.

Avernus sneered as he studied my old Circle Staff. "Over two centuries old, and that staff is still stronger than this piece of junk you've been using. No wonder you switched to a weapon you were, in no way, prepared to use." Great, that is just perfect. I already felt like an idiot. Ohgren called me out on it, in front of everyone no less. Sten was probably going to let me have it the moment he could catch me alone. Now, a two hundred year old Blood Mage, that summoned demons, was scolding me. "Definitely a Circle staff. Some of the enchantments seem more advanced than what they were before, but they still give the apprentices garbage to work with. The Circle of Magi hasn't changed at all." He said with a frown.

"You can tell what type of enchantments they used", Alistair actually seemed impressed at that.

Avernus then went into a small explanation, something regarding runes, but I honestly wasn't listening. I was actually preoccupied with the weapon in my hand. It seemed to be as great a focus as the Spellweaver, and most high level staves that I could only dream of affording. Actually that's not true, I'm sure I could probably afford a great staff, but then my companions and I wouldn't be able to afford certain luxuries…like eating. After Avernus finished whatever it was he was talking to Alistair about, I had to ask, "Where'd you get this?"

The old Mage turned back towards me. "Sophia had a hobby of collecting rare weapons, especially those used in other countries. She acquired that particular one off of a trader from Kirkwall. It wasn't until much later that I noticed the pole was actually enchanted to be used as a focus for Magic. Speaking of which, I suggest you refrain from using whatever new spells you recently learned, and use it as an actual staff." He gave me a pointed look at this point. "You're a Mage, boy. Behave like one." I glared back at him. Yea, he definitely didn't have the right to start lecturing me. "However, if you find yourself in need of a close combat weapon, I believe this would be more agreeable than a sword. At least you're used to using a weapon of this shape."

I nodded before thanking him. Now I'd just need to find a way to prevent Ohgren from calling a 'little pike twirler'.

"Now, I assume you wanted to learn about the Darkspawn?" Both Alistair and I nodded. I put the spear down for a moment, to listen to Avernus. "What do you need to learn? Tell me everything you know, so I know where to begin."

Alistair and I glanced at each other. This wouldn't make either of us look good, but it wasn't exactly our fault. "We're the only ones who can stop the Blight", Alistair supplied.

Avernus nodded, though he seemed a little annoyed. "Yes. Go on."

"Umm, we only have thirty years to live", I supplied.

Avernus glared at me, probably for my choice in answer, "Thirty years is actually an estimation, but yes. What else? I pray you boys actually know some useful facts."

Alistair and I glanced at each other. I couldn't think of anything else. "Oh!" Alistair though of something though, "We eat a lot!" Maker help us, how did the two of us get as far as we did?

Avenrus narrowed his eyes, glancing at each of us, "You two don't have the slightest clue of the importance of Grey Wardens."

Once again, Alistair and I shared a look. I turned back towards Avernus and shrugged, "Griffons?"

"Damn the Order and their infernal secrets!" Avernus cursed. "You should have been told everything the moment you woke up, after the joining."

"Yea, I actually agree with that, but I really didn't have a choice in the matter. Like we told you earlier, our superiors died really quickly."

Avernus deflated at that, "Alright, why do you think the Warden's are needed to stop a Blight?"

Alistair piped in, "Because we're awesome." Avernus fixed him with such a withering look, that Alistair quickly looked down to avoid further eye contact.

Though I had planned to phrase it differently, I had planned to give essentially the same answer. We were supposed to be recruited from the best, so it was only obvious that we **were** the best. I shrugged, "I honestly thought the idea that we were _needed_ was just an exaggeration?"

Avernus shook his head. "The First Blight lasted nearly two centuries, boys! Do you honestly believe, that in nearly two hundred years, there wasn't at least one person who was _awesome_", he spat that word out, "enough to defeat the Archdemon."

That was a good question. Since he brought it up, I'm assuming the answer was yes, but history taught me otherwise. That's when a thought occurred to me. "Is it because we're tainted?"

"Yes!" Avernus threw his hands up. "When the Archdemon dies, its soul will travel through the taint to the nearest Darkspawn. Through this method, the Archdemon can never die because it will continue to resurrect itself. Short of killing every Darkspawn in existence, that is."

I nodded at that. "So if one of us kills it, the Archdemon will what, jump to one of us instead?"

"That can't be healthy", Alistair added.

Avernus turned towards Alistair. "Darkspawn are nothing but empty shells. If an Archdemon takes one, the dragon will be reborn. The Archdemon can't inhabit a Grey Warden though, because we all have souls. When the Archdemon tries to take the body of a Grey Warden, they both perish: Archdemon and Warden."

I stopped at that and just let the weight of his words wash over me. That was, kinda scary. Alistair seemed to have similar thoughts running through his mind. So that was it…the big secret. Even, if by some miracle, we did make it through to face the Archdemon and defeat it, one of us would go down with the damn thing. Best-case scenario, either Alistair or myself would die.

After a few moments of silence, I finally asked Avernus if he knew the recipe for the Joining formula. "I do, and more. I can give you the recipe for the poultice you drank before coming to see me the first time."

Alistair glared at me at that. He had not been happy when I drank that potion. Oh well, I had felt like a million sovereigns afterwards…after the mind numbing pain that is.

"Unfortunately, I can't give you the key ingredient to the concoction. Archdemon Blood."

I groaned at that. Figures that the one thing we need to recruit some backup would be something that only ever appeared every few hundred years. Duncan probably had some, but even if whatever container the blood was kept in is still intact, it's probably somewhere at Ostagar with the rest of the Darkspawn. _Perfect_.

He began writing on some parchment for a few moments before switching to a second one. The silence reigned in his room for several minutes, before Avernus broke it. "Boys." He stopped writing to look at us both. A feeling of dread suddenly washed over me. "I wish I could go with you, I truly do. If possible, I would happily take the blow for either of you. Unfortunately, my research is _too_ vital for me to just stop now, mere years from completion. So, unfortunately, one of you may have to take the final strike…despite how young you both are."

I nodded at him, "Is there a reason you're telling us this? We're not upset at you for not joining us."

"Yes, there is a reason that I bring it up." Avernus began with a sigh. "It's common belief amongst the Order that the Third Blight lasted as long as it did, because the first Wardens that fought the Archdemon, at Arlesans, were too afraid to take the final blow." He glanced between Alistair and me. "The battle was won, but Toth was allowed to flee. The Blight lasted another decade, before someone finally ended the accursed thing. By that point, millions had died. So I beg this of you…if either of you get the chance to kill the Archdemon, take it. Please…" Avernus urged us.

Alistair looked down, but nodded. I nodded as well, "I understand."

Avernus snorted before turning back towards the parchment he was writing. "You understand what it's like to ask two young men, a fraction of your age, to die for you? No, I don't think you do." His voice sounded grave. "Hopefully, neither of you will ever fall to that level." Avernus was being honest…he really wanted to be there with us. He wanted to make the sacrifice. Everything about him, right now, may as well have been screaming it. Whatever it was he was researching must be damn important. He folded two different parchments, and held them out for me. "Don't let anyone see those", he said before I took the papers.

I nodded before folding the paper further and sticking it into a pocket in my armor. I then picked up my new staff and said. "Thanks for everything, Avernus."

He held up his hand and shook his head. "No, thank you. You are the Grey Wardens here, not I." My thoughts flashed back towards Flemeth. The old woman had used similar words when we parted that second time.

I didn't even notice when Avernus came to stand in front of me. "There is perhaps something more I can give you", he said while looking straight at me. "There are some magics, spells, that I can teach you. Perhaps you can use them in your fight against the Darkspawn."

Alistair's eyes narrowed at that. "Spells? You don't mean Blood Magic, do you?"

The old mage glanced at the would-be-Templar. "As a matter of fact, I do."

"Forget it! We all know what happened two hundred years ago! That garbage just caused more problems!" Alistair growled out.

Avernus frowned at Alistair, "The Demons were a mistake, true. However, Blood Magic itself isn't evil. A Warden does _whatever_ is necessary to stop the Darkspawn, especially during a Blight! You may have need of it."

Seeing this quickly spiraling out of control, I cut off Alistair's retort, "Thanks, but I'm going to have to refuse your offer."

Alistair beamed at that and Avernus turned his frown on me. "I do so hope that isn't your Chantry speaking, boy."

I shook my head, but turned to Alistair to answer. "Not at all. Under better circumstances, I would love to learn Blood Magic from you." Alistair looked at me with a look of shock and betrayal. I nodded once at him, to show him I was serious, before turning back to Avernus. "However, the last thing we need, right now, is for me to be labeled a Blood Mage." I then gave Avernus a quick rundown of our situation.

By the end of it, Avernus actually nodded in approval. "I understand. That does explain why you two are handling this situation alone. I would recommend that you stay away from politics in the future, boy." He then narrowed his eyes at me. "The one you're fighting, this Lohgain, does he know you're a Mage?"

He saw me at the War Council, at Ostagar, wearing Mage's robes and holding a staff, so it was probably safe to say that he knew I was a Mage. "Yea."

Avernus snorted at that. "He wastes his own resources, sending assassins and soldiers after you, when the Chantry would gladly do it for free? How hard is it for a Teryn, in Denerim, to walkover to the Grand Cleric and convince her that your are a Maleficarum? They would have their legions of Templars hunting you down…all Chantry funded, I might add."

Alistair and I glanced at each other; both shocked at the man's deduction. "Maker, let's just hope he doesn't realize that." Alistair muttered out. I could only nod in agreement.

"And while we're describing spells you shouldn't use in the presence of nobles…you should also probably avoid calling upon your Spirit."

My eyes widened at his statement. "How did you know that I have a Spirit inside of me?"

"You're not the first person I've met with one, nor is that elderly woman you wander around with. One of my former companions, an Elf by the name of Kael, shared his body with a spirit of Valor." Avernus snorted. "You would be amused at the irony if you had known Kael, he was a bloody coward. Never learned how he joined the Grey Wardens, or why."

A wave of hope ran through me. If he worked with someone who also shared their body with a Spirit, perhaps he knew more about being possessed by one than either Wynne or I knew. "How much do you know about them…I mean being possessed by one?"

The elder Mage shook his head, which caused me to let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding, "Not much I'm afraid…I can tell you it's not common. When Kael called upon it, the Spirit granted him extraordinary powers, but also left him exhausted afterwards. Most of the time at least."

"Most of the time?" I asked.

He nodded. "There were a few instances where the Spirit's power didn't seem to drain him nearly as much as it normally did."

Alistair decided to chime in this time. "Now that I think about it, calling on her Spirit doesn't seem to bother Wynne anymore."

My head snapped in his direction so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash, "What", I asked. Since when didn't the Spirit drain Wynne anymore?

"It's just the last two times she used it, it didn't seem to tire her all that much", Alistair replied with a shrug. "It could be just a coincidence?"

"When did she use it?" I had to ask. Did she discover some type of secret?

Alistair held up two fingers. "Once during the fight with Zathrian." He lowered one of his fingers. "And once during the fight with Sophia."

"She used it during the fight with Sohpia?" I didn't remember seeing her call on it.

Alistair grinned. "You probably didn't see her because you were too busy, examining the floor."

I face heated up at that. And now Alistair was giving me crap for my mistake. Great.

"What sort of Spirit does your friend have?" the old man asked, clearly referring to Wynne.

Alistair answered before I could. "A Spirit of Faith."

The Blood Mage rolled his eyes before continuing, "Would you consider her to be a woman of Faith?"

Alistair nodded, again answering before I could, "She's a devout Andrastian."

"She's also one of the few people, back at the Circle, who didn't want to roast the Templars alive." I muttered before looking back at him. "Why do you ask?"

Avernus shook his head. "It's just some thoughts. What happened prior to fighting this Zathrian? Anything significant happen to her?"

"She met up with her old Apprentice, Aneirin." Alistair answered. "They had a long chat together."

I nodded. "Aneirin had run away from the Tower when he was just a kid. Wynne thought the Templars that went after him had killed him."

"Hmmm…" Avernus muttered while rubbing his chin. "Could the answer you seek be that simple?"

Alistair and I glanced at each other before turning back towards him. "That simple? What?"

Avernus looked back at me. "Perhaps your friend, upon meeting this Aneirin, regained _her_ Faith?"

I raised an eyebrow at that, "Regained her Faith? I'm sorry, but I don't follow you."

"Think about it. Her student runs away and is 'killed' by Templars, the personal army of her religion. Perhaps she blames them. Or perhaps she loses faith in herself, for not keeping him from running. Either way, she finds her presumed dead student and sees it as an act of the Maker. Or maybe she finds solace in his presence. Maybe he says he never blamed her for anything." Aneirin actually had said something that affect when Wynne tried to apologize to him. "Either way, her Faith is restored. Now she can link with her Spirit without any negative side effects. Perhaps because nothing is currently hindering her own Faith."

Both Alistair and I nodded. That made sense, I suppose. "And that Kael guy you mentioned. He was a coward, so he couldn't normally use the Spirit of Valor without the side effects."

Avernus nodded. "It's the theory I am supporting at the moment. There were few moments when he willingly put himself in danger. Whether those instances of bravery corresponded with the occasions that his link with Valor didn't exhaust him, I can't say. It's been too long for me to remember it exactly." He then turned towards me. "The spirit inside of you, what kind is it?"

I groaned a bit at the thought. "A Spirit of Love."

Avernus snorted at that. "I think I prefer the Darkspawn."

"**A sad state of mind."** Avernus narrowed his eyes at me. I'm sure he noted the glow in my eyes. In the end, all I could say was, "Just be grateful she didn't interrupt us earlier."

The old Mage shook his head, before turning his back towards us. "Wait! What am I supposed to do?"

Avernus stopped mid step. "Finish your political battle and kill the Archdemon."

I shook my head, "No, I mean about the Spirit."

Avernus just gave me an annoyed look. "I haven't left this room in well over two centuries, and you presume to ask me of love." With that, he kept walking towards his table.

Alright…obviously that was a stupid question.

-xXx-

When we returned to our group, I declared we would be heading back to Redcliffe. If we left tomorrow morning, we should arrive back at Redcliffe prior to the day Eamon asked us to return by. He should be about ready for our march to Denerim by then.

The moment we walked into the room though, most of my companions noted the new weapon I had strapped to my back. Wynne and Morrigan seemed interested for academic purposes. Ohgren and Sten…

The two of them took me to a private, and started training in close quarters combat. I used my former circle staff to practice, designating one side as the blade of the _spear_. They both used blunted weapons.

I quickly learned that, despite the major size different, Ohgren was actually the strongest member of our party. Combine that with a surprising speed and an animal-like fighting style and it was easy to see why he was once so respected in Orzammar. Unfortunately, instead of doing any teaching, he just continued to wail on me. I was lucky that Wynne was on standby. Sten later mentioned, after Ohgren had left, that the dwarf was probably trying to teach me how intimidating a close quarters battle against a real opponent could be. I could agree. Being on the receiving end of Ohgren's berserker style, without being allowed to use magic, was terrifying.

Sten relied greatly on his considerable strength, but, unlike Ohgren, also relied on technique a precision to win a fight. He was also a pretty good teacher, something that made me believe he had some experience with spears. That made sense, before retrieving Asala, I remember the sword he had been using before was shattered by an opponent's great maul. He growled, grasped his opponent's weapon, took it from man, and used it as his own. His training probably included other weapons.

By the end of the night I was exhausted, but felt like I was improving. I asked them to help me train on the journey back to Redcliffe, and they both agreed. I honestly didn't want to get caught unprepared, like I did with Sophia…

-xXx-

I sighed and sat down by the campfire, next to Alistair. It was the night after we left Soldier's Peak and I had just been run ragged, again. Alistair grinned towards me, "Hey, at least no one's around to see you get your butt kicked."

I glared at the man as I pulled out the spear Avernus gave me. I had planned to run some minor drills with it again. It was always good to get used to a new staff, that's something Irving always stressed. I took a quick look around, noticing that all of our companions were out of hearing distance. "I looked at some of the supplies we needed for the joining…most of it seems pretty basic. Aside from the blood."

Alistair nodded. "Can anyone prepare it, or do you need a Mage?"

"From what Avernus wrote, a Mage can make it faster, but anyone should be able to make it." We sat by the fire for a moment, letting the information wash over us. "The other potion is a lot harder. That one we will need a Mage for, though not necessarily Blood Magic." I said quickly, noticing Alistair giving me a look. "It also requires the blood of a Grey Warden."

Alistair paled for a moment, "So…you actually drank some guy's blood?"

"Don't remind me" I groaned.

The would be Templar shuddered at that, before glancing down at the weapon in my lap, "It has your name on it."

I stopped to look at Alistair. "Excuse me?"

He pointed at my new Staff. "The Spear. When did you put your surname on it."

I looked down at the staff, illuminated by the firelight and didn't see anything except more symbols that I couldn't decipher. Alistair reached over and thumped on the area he wanted me to see. Inscribed in the same green characters was the name **Amell**, hidden amongst the Tevinter characters. I was actually surprised by it. I hadn't noticed it when I was looking at it the yesterday. "That wasn't me", I muttered. I tried to search for an explanation, and only found one, "Avernus must have done it…"

Alistair looked at me oddly, "Did you even give him your last name?" I thought long and hard over our conversation, trying to find an answer to Alistair's question. Did I give Avernus my last name?

No…no I hadn't.

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A/N: Mostly a filler. I hope the next chapter will actually contain more comedy. I think this story will only have about three or four more chapters…another if I decide to separate the finale from the epilogue.**

**Anyway, the staff obviously came from seeing the staffs in DA2. I decided, Mage Origin, Amell…why not. A little shout out there.**

**Next chapter: Landsmeet.**

**REVIEW!  
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	6. The Landsmeet

**Disclaimor: I don't own Dragon Age Origins.**

**A/N: Here's the next chapter. Another fight scene and more comedy (or what I hope you guys find comical). Hope you enjoy. As a straight guy, one of these scenes was **_**incredibly**_** difficult to right…but I thought it'd be funny, so I gave it a shot. Hope it came out all right, let me know what you think. Anyway, this chapter contains an NPC named Nigella. She's the elven maid who works in Eamon's Denerim mansion, for those of you who don't know her.**

**Also, unlike the rest of my chapters, this one goes away from the Warden's POV. It goes into no ones POV about a quarter of the way through and jumps to certain characters throughout the rest of the chapter. Since the majority of this story has been from the Warden's POV i'll announce when there is a jump between POV. Anyway, enjoy.  
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Chapter 6: Landsmeet**

-x Warden's POV x-

They won the Landsmeet, with the majority of the nobles standing behind them, but it wasn't enough. Lohgain refused to stand down and accept the way things went. To prevent unnecessary bloodshed the Grand Cleric suggested a duel between champions of the two opposing forces. Lohgain, naturally agreed to duel himself. I momentarily thought of having Alistair step forth, but thought better of it. He hated Lohgain far too much and probably wouldn't think clearly during the duel. I also thought of sending in either Ohgren or Sten, but quickly discarded that idea as well. In the end, I stepped forward and said, "I'll fight."

Lohgain nodded and replied, "Very well Warden, let's test your mettle. 'A man is made by the quality of his enemies', Maric told me that once. I wonder if it's more of a compliment to you or me."

Lohgain and I stood facing each other, surrounded by hundreds of people, whose future depended on the outcome of this next fight. Lohgain held his sword and his shield, glaring at me. I held my staff in a defensive position Sten had showed me. The two of us circled around each other, waiting for Bann Alfstanna to call the start of the fight. I quickly remembered Avernus' warning, _"And while we're describing spells you shouldn't use in the presence of nobles…you should also probably avoid calling upon your Spirit."_ That was true enough. I _was_ technically an abomination, at least in the eyes of the Chantry. If I called Love, and one of the Templars around the chamber sensed her _otherworldly_ presence, things could quickly go bad for all of us.

"Begin!"

Lohgain charged me immediately, obviously planning to subdue the _Mage_ at close range. I cast a Mind Blast to knock him back. He surprised me when he flew back a few feet, but managed to stay on his feet. He quickly charged again. I brought my spear up horizontally to avoid getting cleaved in two, but that just left me open to a shield bash that sent me stumbling backwards.

Ignoring the dent that was now in my armor, I took advantage of the room he just gave me to cast my next spell, a Crushing Prison, the energy enclosing around Lohgain and binding him to the spot. He growled and managed to free himself from the spell, once again surprising me at his speed. Green mist encircled my staff as I prepared to cast a Walking Bomb. He lifted his shield at an angle, just as I casted my spell. To my astonishment, the energy actually bounced off the shield and flew off just over the crowd. He rushed me again, easily getting within reach and hitting me twice with his sword before I managed to raise my defense. I was lucky that my armor was able to deflect his blows, but I definitely felt the silverite plates begin to bend in an unnatural way. The man knew more about fighting Magic than I myself did. His mental resistance must have been enormous.

I managed to get away from him again, getting enough room to hit him with another Crushing Prison. I enchanted my spear with telekinetic energy, and activated my Combat Magic, just as he broke free from the prison. This time I charged at him, planning to put _him_ on the defensive for once. I thrust my spear forward, hoping to skewer him, but Lohgain easily blocked the blow with his shield. I continued thrusting my spear out, hoping to get within his guard, but he was able to block every one of my attacks. After countless failed attempts I began to slow down and Lohgain used that opportunity to smack my spear away and hit me with a Shield Bash, this time sending me sprawling to the ground. Lohgain kicked my bladed-staff away from me and pointed his sword at my throat. I countered by casting Mind Blast, once again sending him flying back several feet, though he still managed to land on his feet. I got up, just as Lohgain was bearing down on me, and extended my right fist towards him, casting a Stone Fist. Obviously surprised at my speed, Lohgain was actually knocked down by my spell. Spotting my weapon, I rushed to it, grasping it just as Lohgain got back to his feet.

I quickly enchanted it with more telekinetic energy and moved into a defensive stance. Things were quickly falling apart in front of me. The man in front of me was a monster and truly deserved all the titles and honors he received during the Rebellion. I couldn't defeat him with my magic, nor could I seem to defeat him with my combat prowess…such as it was. My Silverite armor was also beginning to fall apart, from the beating. I'm sure there were plenty of openings the man could exploit. I was at about half energy, and he didn't seem to be tiring one bit. I'd need to be more cunning if I were to defeat him. Luckily for me, Lohgain seemed to be waiting for me to make the next move…he had to know I was tiring by now. I activated my Rock Armor and my Shining Shield spells, planning to invest everything in my next gambit. I then activated Spell Might spell, to strengthen my current abilities. I glanced over Lohgain's shoulder, spotting Sten, and gave the giant a small nod. An act that I'm sure that Lohgain himself saw. I lifted the spear, horizontally in my right hand and, in one swift motion, hurled it at the man.

Clearly shocked, Lohgain barely managed to move his head, to avoid being impaled by the telekinetic charged weapon. He glanced back just in time to see Sten catch the spear in his hand. He cursed when he realized his mistake. Lohgain turned back just in time to see me within his guard, my fist coming in contact with the side of his head. The man growled as he went sprawling backwards, but I quickly followed throwing another punch. He managed to partially dodge it, taking the hit in his armored shoulder instead of the face again. The force of my blow did make him drop his shield, which I kicked away. His sword shot out like a snake, striking me in one of the numerous openings in my armor, but the combination of Rock Armor and Shimmering Sheild made my skin about as strong as Dragon scales. I punched him in the face again, this time drawing blood.

Ignoring a proud "YEA!" from Alistair and Lohgain's feeble attempts to attack me again, I quickly grabbed the collar of his armor and pulled him into a head butt, sending the man falling down.

After that, I was a testament to Lohgain's strength that the man was still conscious. But it was definitely over. "Enough…I yield."

With that, I dropped my enchantments, nearly dropping to the floor at the same time. Glancing to the side, I could see that my companions, and numerous nobles who supported us during the vote, looking at me in relief. Alistair looked about ready to burst in joy.

I glanced at Eamon who smiled back at me, before calling out, "I'm proud to declare the winner is…" Eamon's eyes widened, he paused for a few seconds before continuing, "…the Grey Warden!"

I glared up at the Arl of Redcliffe. After all I've done for the guy, the old bastard didn't even bother to remember my name. **What. An. Asshole!**

-x End POV x-

Zevran sighed happily as he walked through Eamon's estate. A quick glance around, during his walk, told him that none of his companions had returned yet. Shrugging, he went in search of his target. He quickly found her cleaning up the room the Queen had occupied during her stay at the estate. He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her, before nibbling on her ear.

She yelped in surprised. "Zevran! Please, my mistress will scold me!"

He stopped his act for a moment to reply, "You're mistress is out with her husband, celebrating our victory." He paused a moment, to notice the inconspicuous looking armoire in the corner of the room. He chuckled at it before turning back to Nigella, one of the maids that took care of the Eamon's Denerim estate.

"Master Eamon won? That's wonderful! We hadn't heard any news for so long and some of us started to fear the worse."

Whether her concern was actually over Eamon, or for being associated with the noble was something Zevran couldn't decipher. Either way, his reply was a simple. "Fear not", Zevran said with a chuckle before moving in again to nibble on the woman's ear.

"Zevran!" she yelped again. "Not now!"

Zevran pouted, "Oh, mi amor, you wound me. What am I to do until you finish cleaning?"

"Well", she began, shyly. "If it isn't too much trouble, could you tell me what happened?"

The former assassin grinned at that. "Of course mi amor."

-x Zevran's POV x-

General Lohgain was kneeling on the ground, his legendary armor nearly shattered and barely held together by its leather straps. Our Grey Warden stood in front of him, triumphant, with his hair flowing in the wind.

"_There was wind flowing through the Landsmeet chamber?" Nigella asked/interrupted._

_"Si, now…" Zevran briefly answered before continuing._

Sweat glistened down his magnificent body and he raised his **long weapon** and was ready to **thrust** it into the Hero of River Dane. The venerable general gave our hero a **hard** stare. He grasped the pieces of his chest plate, and pulled it off, having slight difficulty with the straps, showing off his magnificent figure to all those present. "Finish it quickly Warden", the General said in a husky voice.

Our fabulous Warden shook his head and released his **long pole**. "There is no need for that, Teyrn Lohgain", he said in a husky voice, walking towards downed man. "We can work together…" Our Warden cradled the General's face in his hands. "Let's stand together."

Lohgain looked up at the Warden, "Warden…"

"Teyrn…"

Things began to heat up between the two great heroes when-

-x End POV x-

"-Zevran, are you fibbing?"

Both elves in the room turned towards the voice to see Leliana standing at the doorway. Nigella's cheeks reddened, probably from the fact that Zevran's hand was in a rather intimate spot, before jumping away from the assassin. Zevran faked a pout, "Leliana, your accusations hurt me."

The red head rolled her eyes at the comment. Nigella turned towards Zevran. "Now that she mentions it, for something like _that_ to happen in the middle of the Landsmeet seems far'fetched. And the Warden didn't seem to have those kind of thoughts before…he was always staring at your other companion, the one with the dark hair."

Leliana gave a rather un-lady-like snort at that last comment. "Zevran decided to use his imagination a bit when he told you that story."

"Oh?"

"Oh yes", Leliana began with a smile. "What happened was positively awe-inspiring. Not erotic, like most of Zevran's stories. One man, commoner born, managed to get nearly every noble in all of Ferelden to gather behind him during the Blight…"

-x Leliana's POV x-

Our beloved leader was positively glowing, armed in his silver armor. Lohgain was kneeling in front of him, still looking strong and majestic even in defeat. Our leader offered his hand to Lohgain, and smiled. "Join us brother. Join us in our fight. Join us in the Light."

Lohgain nodded and took our leader's hand, and was helped to his feet. The people of the Landsmeet stared in awe as the two greatest heroes of this age stood together, prepared to take on the true evil of our story.

"_So he really did spare General Lohgain?" Nigella interrupted…against._

"_Oh yes. That part of Zevran's story was true", Leliana replied._

"_Oh, you are both so cruel to me", Zevran said faked sadness._

Unfortunately, Alistair was quick to denounce this alliance. Our Hero walked towards Alistair, sweat giving him an ethereal glow. "Alistair…my friend", he said in a hopeful voice. "My brother…" his voice turned into one of anguish. "My King…" this time in his clearly defined, **Grey Warden**-voice. "I know you lost, not only your brother, but the closest thing you ever had to a Father…" Eamon looked down at that, shame filling him up inside. Unshed tears shimmered in Alistair's eyes. "…but we can't let that stand between us or it may destroy us. We must all stand together to stop the one true evil." He grasped Alistair's right hand. "Together, we can halt the Blight and send the horde back to the Deep Roads." He turned towards Anora and grasped her left hand and placed it over Alistair's. "Together, we will save everyone."

He then released their hands and turned back towards the assembled Landsmeet. "Together!" The Nobles all cheered. "For our bright and shining future!" Arl Eamon nodded and began to clap for him, our Grey Warden, "Stand with me!" Teyrn Lohgain was moved and went to go stand behind our Leader; "March with me!" Alistair had tears in his eyes, but our leader's words moved him to stand with even his most hated enemy. Both he and Anora shared a look, barely restrained passion hidden between them. Our leader tossed his hands into the air. "Fight with me, and LIVE!" An explosion of applauds erupted around the room as everyone swore their allegiance, to not only their King and Queen, but to the Grey Warden."

-x End POV x-

Zevran rolled his eyes, an action that Leliana clearly missed. "My dear Leliana, I know from experience that you have a silver tongue."

The bard smiled at the assassin, "Thank you Zevran."

"It just shouldn't be used to tell stories."

It took Leliana a moment to catch the meaning in his words. Her cheeks immediately heated up when she did, and she gave him a withering glare. "Zevran!"

Boom.

The three occupants in the room glanced at the armoire in the corner. Boom, a second crash from inside. Then the piece of furniture actually started rumbling. Nigella moved behind Zevran, and Leliana put a hand on one of her daggers. Zevran just stood motionless.

The armoire burst open and a figure fell out of it, landing flat on the ground. Leliana's eyes widened, "Ohgren?" The Dwarf coughed a few times, as he started getting up on his feet. "When did you get in there?"

Ohgren shrugged, before scratching his head. "About a minute after I realized the one in Eamon's room wasn't a pantry." Nigella ran passed Ohgren and looked in the armoire, to make sure every was still okay.

"But wait?" Leliana began again, not yet satisfied with her questioning. "Why would you think an armoire is a pantry?"

"Woman, I drank two bottles of surface ale and a whole bottle of something called, Antivian _vodka_. Just be thankful I can recognize your face right now." He glanced back at Nigella, who seemed satisfied with the state of the Wardrobe. "Just so you know, I think I vomited in Eamon's…"

Her eyes widened before racing off towards Eamon's bedroom. Zevran watched on in disappointment.

Ohgren burped before staring at Leliana, "Anyway, your story sucked." He quickly glanced over at Zevran. "Yours to, but I'm sure that goes without saying. You both make the Boss sound like a glowing pansy."

"But, he does glow", Leliana replied.

"Yea, well he didn't at the Landsmeet", Ohgren replied. "Now, I remember it all, as if it happened yesterday-"

"It happened today."

Ohgren glared at Leliana, "Stop arguing with me woman! My memory isn't that damn bad." Both Leliana and Zevran rolled their eyes at his reply. "Anyway, Wynne was wearing that nice green robe…the one that makes her chest look bigger."

Zevran smiled and close his eyes, "Mmmm, yes. I like that one. Ah…Wynne and her magical bosom."

"Morrigan was wearing the same thing she always wears. Rags that barely cover her…mmm."

Zevran nodded, "Yes. Our dear witch's choice of clothes is most exhilarating."

Leliana just glanced between the two, before sighing, "Now who's using their imagination."

Ohgren glared at the bard, "Right, because glowly **I can make everyone my best friend**-boss is accurate. Pfft. Anyway, the boss just beat up that Lohgain guy-"

-x Ohgren POV x-

-and he was standing in the middle of the Landsmeet chamber. He glared at that Lohgain guy and said, "You lost, join me…we got cookies." I think he said cookies…no wait, he didn't! He actually said something really inspiring about how we were the only ones who could stop the Blight. Mmmm…we should get cookies though.

Anyway, Lohgain looked at him for a minute and then said, "Okay."

Then the boss pointed at Lohgain's daughter and said, "And your noble hunter daughter is going to be the _little_ _Pike_ _Twirler's_ woman."

_"Oh maker, did you just call Queen Anora a prostitute?" Leliana interrupted._

_"A really high-class prostitute", Ohgren defend, "Anyway…"_

And then Lohgain nodded.

But then the _little_ _Pike_ _twirler_ got all prissy. He pointed at Lohgain and said, "No! He can't be a Grey Warden, he killed…someone…important to me."

"_I believe the man's name was Duncan." Zevran supplied._

"_Do you want to tell the story, Happy Pants?" Ohgren snapped. "Wait, on second thought I don't want to hear it. Anyway…"_

And the boss he…ummm…yea he said, "Shut up, Pike Twirler. I'm the Boss." He then turned back to the Deshyrs and said, "We're gonna kill the Darkspawn, yea." And then the Deshyrs clapped for him.

-x End POV x-

Leliana rolled her eyes at that. "That didn't even make a good summary of what happened today. You left many facts out, altered many things, and barely described anything at all." Leliana sighed. "You wouldn't make a very good Bard, Ohgren. You certainly lack the imagination."

Ohgren snorted, "Well then, maybe I should've **imagined** you in that armor Zevran offered to buy for you."

Zevran nodded, "Mmmm…that one was a good one."

Leliana's face reddened, "Female Dalish armor is little better than smalls clothes!"

"Pfft, you're just impractical."

Lelian's eyes narrowed. "It didn't cover anything from my chest to my hips. It left my stomach, and lower back, completely open!"

"Mmm…"

"Oh Maker take both of you!" The girl screeched before walking out of the room.

Ohgren sighed at Leliana's retreating form. This was turning out to be a lousy celebration. Turning back towards Zevran he asked, "What now?"

Zevran shrugged, "We could go find Wynne and stare at her magical bosom."

"Sounds good."

-xXx-

Nigella would later come across the Warden, speaking with Lohgain and Riordan, in the Queen's former bedroom. Memories of Zevran and Leliana's story quickly flashed through her mind's eye, causing her to stiffen up. The sudden movement caught the attention of the three men in the room.

The elf's face heated up when all three turned to stare at her. "Ummm, excuse me my lords." She turned and immediately ran out of the room.

"Can you explain that?" Lohgain asked, his two companions.

The Warden just shrugged.

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A/N: So there's the Landsmeet. The last fight between the Warden and Alistair…and then three separate interpretations of what happened afterwards. I'll let you decide which interpretation was the most accurate.**

**Only two chapters left. With luck I should finish this before DA2 come out. Not that'll I'll be able to buy it right away. While I could buy it on Tuesday, I'll basically be dooming myself to fail my current classes. Damn college.**


	7. Reconciliation

**Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age Origins.**

**A/N: I spent more time thinking up an appropriate title than I did mapping out the plot for this chapter. I still think it's kinda lame, but there it is. I know some of you wanted more Warden-Morrigan moments, so here it is.  
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Chapter 7: Reconciliation**

I stood in a room, provided by Arl Eamon, speaking with both Lohgain and Riordan. We had recently returned to Redcliffe, where the combined armies of Humans, Dwarves, Elves, and Mages had begun to gather.

After the Landsmeet my party was dispatched to scout out the remainder of Ostagar before curving back North towards Redcliffe. Unfortunately, my decision to spare, and conscript, General Lohgain caused Alistair to angrily leave our party. He would be staying in Denerim, defending it alongside Anora. That suited me just fine honestly; I didn't want to risk Alistair doing something stupid…like taking the final blow against the Archdemon.

The moment my group returned to Redcliffe, we found Riordan having just completed his own scouting mission. He informed us that the bulk of the horde, which we incorrectly assumed was still at Ostagar, was marching towards Denerim. He also took us aside and spoke with us, wanting to know if we knew how to kill the Archdemon. I had already learned the truth and, unlike my superiors, decided to tell Lohgain the moment we had a moment alone. Unfortunately, the information had the unfortunate side effect of making Lohgain believe that _that_ was the reason for my mercy. Kinda annoyed me that he still seemed to think the worst in me: first that I would betray my own country, and now that I am incapable of a good deed without an ulterior motive. Then again, I knew the man was Ferelden's greatest General so perhaps my motives weren't entirely altruistic. Either way, there we stood, finishing the meeting with Riordan.

I traded out my broken Silverite armor for the Dragonskin armor that Wade had forged, from the High Dragon those crazy cultists were worshiping. I jokingly said that I was wearing the Bride of the Maker…neither Wynne nor Leliana approved. Lohgain wore the same armor he always did, though he traded his arms for Maric's sword and Cailan's shield.

We left the room with the understanding that Riordan, who was about to face his Calling, would take the final blow. I made my way to my room; planning to get some much needed rest when Lohgain stopped me, "Warden."

I turned to look at the man behind me.

"If Riordan fails in his mission, I'll take the final blow." I opened my mouth to retort, but Lohgain interrupted me. "I have come to understand that you didn't recruit me to make the sacrifice, but I ask that you let me do it nonetheless. If anyone should make the sacrifice it should be me, I have a life time worth of sins to make up for."

I shut my eyes, but didn't turn away from him. "I don't want to die…I'm honestly afraid to, despite everything that's happened."

"_The Blight lasted another decade, before someone finally ended the accursed thing. By that point, millions had died. So I beg this of you…if either of you get the chance to kill the Archdemon, take it. Please…"_

I opened my eyes and leveled the man with my fiercest stare, "But if I have the chance to finish the damn thing off, and neither of you two are able to, I'm taking it out."

Not saying a word right away, Lohgain walked passed me. It wasn't until he was at the end of the hall that I heard him say, "If I leave Ferelden in your hands, I will happily go to meet the Maker." And with that he was gone.

I turned towards the bedroom provided for me and opened the door…and saw Morrigan waiting for me in front of the fireplace. "Do not be alarmed. It is only I."

I frowned at her. "Why would I be alarmed?"

"Because you are in danger." She turned her head to look at me, "I have a plan, you see. A way out. A loop in your hole." I'm not sure if it's because of my _dry_ _spell_ or simply from hanging around with Zevran or Ohgren for far too long, but her comment filled my head with half a dozen dirty comments, each nearly leaving the tip of my tongue. I stayed silent though, mostly out of respect for what we once had. She finally turned around and began walking towards me. I took a moment to enjoy the hypnotic way her hips always swayed when she walked. "I know what happens when the Archdemon dies. I know a Grey Warden must be sacrificed, and that sacrifice could be you. I have come to tell you this does not need to be."

"Does not need to be? What do you mean?" I asked, startled.

_"It's common belief amongst the Order that the Third Blight lasted as long as it did, because the first Wardens that fought the Archdemon, at Arlesans, were too afraid to take the final blow."_

My eyes narrowed. A Grey Warden _had_ to be sacrificed. What did she know…and how did she know about the sacrifice in the first place.

"I offer a way out. A way out for all the Grey Wardens, that there need be no sacrifice. A ritual…preformed on the eve of battle, in the dark of night."

All my senses, honed from my many instructors explaining the dangers of demons and making deals, suddenly began screaming danger. Funny that those same senses weren't triggered when I agreed to host Love. There was definitely something wrong in all of this. My reply, "Nothing comes without a price."

"Perhaps. But that price need not be **so** unbearable, especially if there is so much to be gained."

I narrowed my eyes at her, an act that actually caused her to frown at me, clearly hurt by my suspicion. She probably had every reason to be hurt…all my senses were screaming at me to kick her out and say no. "Very Well. What is your plan?"

She smiled at my willingness to listen and went to sit on my bed, "What I propose is this: lay with me. Here, tonight. And from our joining, a child will be conceived." My memories flashed to a time before my 'possession'_._ To a time when thoughts of children and settling down with the woman in front of me, filled my dreams. They also involved asking the woman's mother for her blessing…something that would probably be difficult to get now that I tried to kill said mother. Regardless, all my daydreaming always took place after the Blight. Now she spoke of strange rituals and bringing a child into the fold. I think my initial instincts were the right ones. "The child will bear the taint, and when the Archdemon is slain, its presence will seek the child like a beacon." I'm pretty sure my eyes widened at that point. She probably saw that, so she continued quickly, "At this early stage, the child can absorb that essence and not perish. The Archdemon is still destroyed, with no the Grey Warden dying in the process."

"Are you insane?" I growled out harshly, "**This** is your plan?"

"Think about what I offer you: the chance to avoid death. Or better yet, the chance to slay the Archdemon and live as a hero. No Grey Warden has ever done this." She tried to placate me…she failed miserably, though she obviously failed to see that. "In return I conceive a child, one who will be born with the soul of an Old God. After this is done, you allow me to walk away…and you do not follow. Ever. The child will be mine to raise how I wish."

I sent her a withering look. "So this is why you've been so **friendly** with me? I spat.

She looked hurt at the accusation. "It's…why I was sent with you by my mother. It's why she saved your life to begin with. Caring for you…was not part of the plan."

"Then **why**?" I snapped.

She gave me a steely look, "I cannot let what I feel interfere with what I must do. The fact that it may save your life makes me all the more determined to see it done." Her expression softened somewhat. "Please do not…cloud the issue. If you feel anything for me, then accept that it will make what we must do…that much easier."

I chuckled at her. After all the crap we went through on this accursed mission, I felt like I was beginning to lose my mind. "Yet you, want to take this mystery child, and disappear. That's supposed to be easier for me."

She nodded. "After the Archdemon has been slain, you will never see me again. Refuse my offer, however, and I leave now. This is…simply how it must be."

"No, I will not agree to this."

Morrigan glared at me. "You will not even lay with me to save your own life."

I glared right back, "You have no idea what you're asking of me!"

"Perhaps not, but no Grey Warden asked for the sacrifice that is now demanded of them, and I offer all of you a way out. Will you not reconsider?"

And bring some demon-spawn into the world, like hell, I nearly growled, but stopped myself. I had no idea what the Archdemon's essence would do to the child, and frankly I had no intention of ever finding out. "You are very cruel, Morrigan, you know that?"

Once again, she looked hurt at my accusation, "That is not an answer."

"My answer is no."

"Then you are a fool!" She snapped, rising to her feet. "I will not stand by and watch you waste this opportunity. Die, if you feel it is worthwhile. Or be overshadowed, I care not."

I clenched my fists and looked away from her. Anxiety rose up in the pit of my stomach when she said that. She couldn't leave; I didn't want her to leave. I glanced down at my left hand, at the rosewood loop on my ring finger. The same one she had given him. "_Please…_don't do this." I'm sure she could feel the sorrow in my voice…and she took advantage of it.

"Reconsider…'tis all I have to say."

I felt like I was punched by a golem. She'd really leave if I didn't give her what she wanted. She'd leave if I did. My mind worked a mile a minute, trying to find a way to get her to stay. _Anything_ to make sure she wouldn't just leave me. I couldn't think of anything. My mind kept falling back to something she said earlier…

"_It's…why I was sent with you by my mother."_

I glared at her. I was well past angry and sad. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I growled. "That woman raised you as nothing more than a damn meat suit for her to slip on at her convenience, and you still follow her words as if it were the damn Chant!"

She glared at me, "Oh, and I should perhaps believe in some absentee father-figure and false prophet, like the rest of you."

"The Maker can go piss off, and so can his damn prophet." I snapped. "I'm talking about you! She wanted to possess you! She didn't give a damn about you or she wouldn't even consider doing something like that to you, her own daughter!"

That last comment actually took her back a bit, I could tell. She was doing a poor job trying to hide it, "I care not for Flemeth, make no mistake. Her lessons however, were acquired over centuries. There is truth in her words. Her lessons made me strong all these years."

"**No…they have made you weak."**

Morrigan growled, "Be gone meddling spirit! Do not presume to know a thing about the world of mortals."

"**For all your talks of power and survival of the fittest you fail to acknowledge the simple fact that _you_ are the weakest Mage in our group. "**

"How dare you!" I wasn't sure what pissed her off more. Being called weaker, or being called weaker than Wynne.

"**Her teachings have made you less than what you could have been." ** I actually smirked at the spirit's interference. First time for everything I supposed. "'Love is a crutch', you once said that to me", I looked at her. "I think love made me strong…metaphorically speaking."

Morrigan glared at him, "Your feelings are keeping you from doing what needs to be done."

"Your blind faith, in someone who you _know_ was trying to destroy you, could get you killed. You've never even tested this spell before. How do you know that it'll even work? How do you know that it won't destroy you?" I spat. "Let me re-emphasize my earlier statement: she raised you to be her damn vessel! Do you honestly think she'd tell you if this ritual had any dangerous side effects?"

"The ritual was discussed, in detail, within Flemeth's Grimoire. Everything in the Grimoire was exactly as Flemeth explained to me. She withheld nothing, save what _she_ desired to do with the child."

Something flashed in the back of my mind. "A Grimoire she was prepared to let you have."

"What?" she questioned.

"When I met her, she didn't want to fight me. She offered to let me have her Grimoire as a trophy. She wanted to see what you would do with your new found freedom."

She actually looked shocked at me, horror dawning over her features as she took baby steps away from me.

"If I had taken her offer…" I let the words hang in the air, letting the thoughts run through her head. She fully expected Flemeth to return one day, though I didn't actually know what kind of time frame she expected. However, she expected to have enough time to develop a resistance to Flemeth's possession technique. If I had taken Flemeth's offer, without telling Morrigan, Flemeth could have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to take her. Flemeth could've taken Morrigan long before she developed any conceivable protection.

"You wouldn't…" Morrigan said, barely a whisper.

It took me a moment to realize that she had just accused me of betraying her. The very thought that she would think that angered me. The moment I realized her initial assumption I glared at her, "I already said I didn't, in case you weren't listening. We fought Flemeth, and she turned into a Dragon! Don't you remember Alistair complaining about the fight for a week afterwards?" Though grateful, Morrigan was amused that Alistair spent two days rubbing salve on his burns…an that some of said burns were in rather intimate places. More importantly, it was well known that Alistair was an abysmal liar. If I had let Flemeth live…Alistair would have blown the secret within a few hours.

She dropped the horrified look, but still looked at me with an unsure expression. "Why? T'was a foolish move on your part. She could have killed you." Her voice was still, just barely above a whisper.

"Because I love you, and I wanted to protect you." I replied in a flat voice. "Is that really so damn hard to comprehend?"

Her eyes widened in shocked. My memory went back to the night I gave her that golden mirror. She had been stunned that I didn't ask for anything in return. She really never received anything without strings attached to it. "I…"

I just gave Morrigan a tired look, "Isn't it at all possible that she planted that information in her Grimoire?"

"That's just conjecture."

I rolled my eyes, "Because there is no possible way that having a Archdemon baby could possibly go wrong?" I made sure my voice was dripping with sarcasm. I glared at her, "It's not possible that it would make you a walking beacon for Darkspawn…or that it would eat you alive from the inside out."

Morrigan's face twisted from confusion to anger. "Your feelings will prevent you from doing what you needs to be done", she accused. I nearly laughed at her comment.

I walked up to her until I was a mere inch away from the witch, and she didn't back away. "My feelings have always driven me, since the day I left the tower. My loyalty to my friend is what got me conscripted in the first place. My gratitude, towards Duncan, drove me up the Tower of Ishal, despite my inexperience. Nostalgia brought me back to the tower and fear helped me scale it. Hope for the future of a race, that isn't even my own, caused me to put Bhelen on the throne, despite all evidence pointing to the fact that he is in fact a jackass. Sympathy got me to help the Werewolves, and I nearly lost my contract with the Dalish to do it. And Love made me fight Flemeth, despite the fact that she offered an easier solution." I stared long and hard at her, hoping she was taking it all in. **"You say love is a weakness? One woman's love, however foolish she may have been, killed hundreds and nearly doomed a province."** I doubt that was easy for the Spirit to say, but I'm glad she said it. "And those same feelings stopped the massacre."

She shook her head, "Will _love_", she spat the word out, "protect you from the soul of Old God?" She started taking steps away from me. "What if I do stay, and we do this the _Grey_ _Warden_ way, what then? Am I to watch you die?" I was stunned at the pain in her voice. "Who else has the power to deal with the Archdemon? Those two old men you've recruited? Will that fool Alistair swoop down and finish the creature off?" She didn't stop until she reached the door. "No…it will be _you_. For you are the only one with the power to do so."

An empty feeling went through my chest. I wanted to comfort her. To tell her it wouldn't be me. To tell her that we'd both live through the final battle. But I refused to lie to her…even if it was only just a possibility. In the end all I could say was, "I can't shy away from this, Morrigan. I'll do what I must." I couldn't even look her in the eye when I said it.

"_The Blight lasted another decade, before someone finally ended the accursed thing. By that point, millions had died. So I beg this of you…if either of you get the chance to kill the Archdemon, take it. Please…"_

"Am I to accept that?" She asked sadly.

I shook my head. "I have no answer for you." I cringed when I heard the door open. "Will you still leave?" I had to ask.

"I know not." And with that she left. I must have stood there for well over an hour before I finally collapsed onto my bed. I hoped exhaustion would take me soon enough.

-xXx-

I left my room the following morning at the crack of dawn. Liam, who came to my room late last night, was on my heels. Unfortunately, my argument with Morrigan left me so anxious that I couldn't get an ounce of sleep. I ended up spending the majority of the night staring at the fire. I'd have to ask Wynne to cast the Rejuvenation spell, to make sure I wouldn't fall asleep on the journey to Denerim. A random maid told me there was a table set up, next to the Arl's study, filled with food for my group.

Walking down the hall, I passed by the Castle's Chantry just in time to see Zevran walk out. As we passed each other he gave me an obviously sarcastic smirk, "Fear not my friend, for this next battle is in the hands of the Maker. Feel free to sleep in."

I snorted at his comment. That sounded like the typical Chantry mumble jumble. If it was all in the hands of the Maker, it was a wonder why anyone did anything at all. Passing by the open door, I saw both Leliana and Wynne kneeling in front of one of the Revered Mothers. Typical for those two, though it did explain why Zevran, of all people, was in the Chantry. Walking down the stairs, I passed by Lohgain. He acknowledged me before walking off in some random direction, probably to inspect the soldiers or our supplies. I found Ohgren passed out in the hallway, with a bottle of ale in one hand and a feather duster in the other. All my willpower went into _not_ asking what the feather duster was for. There were two guards there, sneaking looks at the sleeping dwarf. I imagine they were probably having similar thoughts. I gestured towards Ohgren and they both just shrugged. He was obviously there for as long as they were. Shale was standing by a window, staring at a few birds that were perch outside, on the windowsill. I silently prayed that window wasn't too expensive to replace.

I found a table quickly enough, just as Sten was walking out of the room, and admired the spread. I sat down, grabbed a piece of venison, and gave it to Liam. I'm lucky the dog didn't take my hand on. Turning back to the table, I spotted some of the pastries and took some of those. I was only there for about ten minutes before I felt a hand on my shoulder. I glanced backwards and smiled. Hours worth of fear and anxiety washed off of me. I felt like a terrible weight was lifted off my shoulders. I smiled up at my love, "I honestly thought you would have left."

"I nearly did", she smiled down at me as she said that. Her expression then shifted to a steely one, "If I'm to take part in this battle, then know I have no intention of losing you. Let Riordan or Lohgain take the final hit", she said. Though phrased like an order, she was clearly pleading with me.

I just smiled nervously, "Well…they both _did_ volunteer." Left unsaid was that I'd do my duty, if it came down to it. And she knew it.

She smiled again, "Well then, I'll just have to make sure they're given the opportunity." There was fear in her voice. Morrigan was shaking. I knew she just wanted to turn and run away. She was giving into emotions that were absolutely foreign to her. Feelings that she was taught would only make her weaker.

In response, as selfish as I knew it was, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her down to me.

The distance between our faces shortened, until my lips brushed against hers. And then, purple energy exploded out of me, knocking aside most of the food on the table. Startled, we both separated. I was still glowing.

I'm sure I still looked shocked, but Morrigan _actually_ giggled at me. "Is that your _Magic_ shining through, or perhaps you are just happy to see me."

I smiled back…maybe _she_ was hanging around Zevran too much.

-xXx-

Ohgren woke up after the greatest dream. He had been making _nice_ with Felsi and then proved that having a beard enabled you to tickle your lover in all the _right_ places. Feeling himself holding something, he looked down and saw a bottle of ale, which he remembered chugging, and…a strange feathery/furry thing. "What the bloody hell is this?" he asked as he began to shake the strange object. He dropped it and got to his feet, still holding the bottle.

A random maid passed by him and told him something about a feast down the hall, for the Warden and all of his pals. It certainly paid to hang out with the boss. Still holding the bottle, he made his way towards the place the maid had pointed out. The moment he turned the corner, he saw the boss and the witch playing _nice_. He chuckled when he saw them kiss.

And then the boss began glowing…again…and knocked most of the food on the floor. Ohgren stared long and hard at the sight before him. He looked at the bottle in his hand and just dropped the damn thing, letting it shatter on the floor, before turning away. "Magic…" he muttered/groaned, before walking off. "Way to early for this shit."

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A/N: I wasn't completely satisfied with that ending, between the Warden and Morrigan. I honestly wasn't trying to create a _lame_ false suspense (will she stay, or will she leave) situation, only to fix it in the very same chapter (that fact alone probably made it worse). Honestly, that's just how I feel it would have turned out in this case, if I kept Morrigan true to her character. All the lessons she learned from her mother (body stealing monster that she may be) are a great contrast from those she learned from those she learned during her journey with the Warden (most Wardens). I really hope I was true to her character.**

**Anyway, if you enjoy this story, feel free to check up on another project of mine (a oneshot) called "Oh, Death." Not my usual cup of tea, but since the moment I thought of it the plotline wouldn't leave me alone.**

**Please review.**


	8. Power of True Love

**Disclaimor: I don't own Dragon Age Origins.**

**A/N: Here is the final chapter of "The Power of Love". I may consider doing a one shot later with these characters…though I'm not sure. Now I can go read the twenty updates that appeared on my favorites list in the last twenty-four hours (never happens when I'm not busy).**

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**Chapter 8: Power of True Love**

We arrived in Denerim two days behind the horde, just as Eamon surmised. The majority of the army engaged the Darkspawn outside of Denerim. My group, leading a smaller portion of combined armies, charged through the gates. Within a few minutes, we had secured the entrance to Ferelden's capital.

Riordan left our group then, suggesting we make our way towards Fort Drakon. He also let us know that there were two Darkspawn Generals in Denerim, something he called **Vanguards**. He was worried that, if attacked, the Archdemon would call upon them to help it. Lohgain agreed that those had to be taken out. I left Ohgren, backed up by Zevran, in charge of defending the gates. A few Denerim soldiers, who managed to survive the siege, and some Dalish hunters would be under his command. I sent Sten, backed by both Shale and Leliana, to hunt down the Generals. I left Sten in charge of the knights of Redcliffe and half of the Dwarven army. I took Lohgain, Morrigan, Wynne, and Liam with me to Fort Drakon; keeping the Mages of the Circle and the Legion of the Dead.

Satisfied that we each had our assignments, we moved out.

We arrived at Fort Drakon a few hours later, with are group still intact. Scaling the Fort, we came into a sight that literally made my blood run cold. It was Sandal…covered in blood…surrounded by a couple dozen dead Darkspawn…two of which were Ogres. "Enchantment?"

Eyes widened, I looked at the corpses before turning my attention to the addled dwarf. "Sandal? You're surrounded by Darkspawn corpses. What happened here?"

"Enchantment!"

I glanced over at my companions, who were clearly as confused as I was, before turning back to the Dwarf, "That…really doesn't answer my question-"

"Enchantment!"

"Okay, now you're just dodging the-"

"Enchantment!"

"I don't under-"

"Enchantment!"

"But-"

"Enchantment!"

I glared at the Dwarf in front of me. "How the heck did you get here by yourself?"

**"Enchantment!"**

The wind blew fiercely, almost blowing out the lit candles on the wall. Quite a feat, considering there wasn't an open window anywhere. I traded glances with most of my companions, most who looked shocked. Even Lohgain, who I once saw take on a pair of Ogres with no back up, looked shook up. Kardol, who was leading the Legion, turned to me, "Did it just get colder in here?"

Instincts told me to change the subject immediately. In the end, the most important thing was that Sandal was all right…right? I glanced at the backpack the boy wore. "Do you have any of your father's wares?"

"Enchantment!"

"Give me every potion you have."

"Enchantment!"

A couple dozen health potions and six potent Lyrium potions. Those would help out immensely.

"Enchantment!"

I nodded and fished out my money; handing him eight sovereigns, twelve silvers, and fifty-two bronze pieces. "Thanks, Sandal."

"Enchantment!"

"Hold on a minute!" Garret, a friend of mine from the Circle chimed in, pointing at the Dwarf. "We gotta, pay? Hey it's his ass on the line too. It's not like he's in the safest of places."

"Enchantment!"

I smiled at the Dwarf, "Thanks Sandal, I really appreciate that." With that last comment, the Dwarf took off.

Garret looked confused when I turned back to him, "Did he just ignore me?"

"No. He said he has complete faith in our victory and, as such, has no problem charging us", I replied.

Garret didn't take that well. I couldn't blame him. I wonder when it was that little annoyances like that stopped bothering me…

-xXx-

My group charged through the gates leading to the roof of the Fort. I stopped, my companions falling in behind me, when I spotted the Archdemon. It was finishing off some soldiers who tried and engaged it. The thing truly was frightening. Much more frightening than either the faux-Andraste or Flemeth's Dragon form. While they were fierce in their own right, the Old God that now stood before me was…horrifying. Luckily, for our group, I couldn't sense any other Darkspawn. I breathed in deep when I heard Lohgain yell, "Attack pattern one! Concentrate everything on the Archdemon."

Lohgain and the Legion formed a wall between the Archdemon and the Mages. I noticed Liam stand between Lohgain and Kardol, and silently prayed for his safety. Both Morrigan and Wynne fell in beside me. I glared at the beast, "Destroy it!" It was a simple, if not redundant, command…but it had the right affect. All the Mages let loose there Maker given abilities. The elements of Fire, Frost, Lightning, and Earth flew at the Demon. Curses and Hexes followed.

The Demon howled in pain. My group was careful to aim high. During that time, Lohgain and Kardol led the Legion to attack the Demon's legs. Swords, axes, and hammers struck at the Blighted Old God. The Archdemon roared before jumping into the air, and began flying away. It landed about twenty yards away from us.

"Damn thing's wing is fucked up!" I heard one of the Dwarves yell. I noticed, as the Dwarf had said, that one of the Archdemon's wings had a nasty looking up going up it. Once again, the Warriors charged at the Dragon. I led the Mages into attacking the demon from a distance. The few attacks it tried didn't succeed in seriously hurting anyone. Those that did get hurt were quickly healed.

I noticed, for the most part, that the Legions' attacks were having little affect as well. Lohgain, who was using Maric's Sword, and Kardol, who wielded a Dragonbone Axe, were able to penetrate the demon's scales…if barely. Everyone else may as well have been hitting it with blunted weapons.

Something caught my attention and I stopped attacking and turned right. Cursing, I turned back and called out, "Lohgain, Darkspawn are incoming!"

The moment those words left my mouth, the Archdemon decided it would be the right time to try and fly again. It didn't get to far, but, luckily for us, the Warriors were momentarily free of it. "Attack pattern 2: Don't let any of the Darkspawn reach the Mages!" Lohgain yelled as the Legion formed a sloppy perimeter around us.

Hurlocks and Genlocks began to flood the rooftops, but were routed by the Legion of the Dead. "They're breathing dust, if we let them breath at all!" Kardol cried as his axe split a Genlock's head open.

The Mages continued the attack on the Archdemon, without the Legion.

I ran to the front of the line, being careful to stay in front of both Morrigan and Wynne, and activated all my protection spells. Morrigan wasn't to proficient in defensive magic and I wanted Wynne to concentrate on healing the wounded. She and the rest of our healers would now have to divide their attention between the damage caused by the Archdemon **and** the Darkspawn. I noticed four Circle mages stand next to me, and began casting their own defense spells. Garret was amongst them.

After casting a quick fireball, Garret got my attention, "Is anything even getting through?"

Frowning, I turned back towards the Archdemon just as another wave of Primal magic flew passed me. The spells made contact, but it was just that. Fire didn't burn it. Frost just melted. Lightning discharged in the air…

I could tell that the spells hurt it, but nothing seemed to actually pierce those damn scales. I thought back to Lohgain's and Kardol's attacks; the only attacks I saw pierce the Archdemon. But they were using Dragonbone weapons.

The Archdemon opened it's mouth and spewed purple fire at our group. On instinct, I placed my spear in front of me. The fire made contact with my Magical shields and quickly dispersed before going out completely. "Keep attacking it! Give it everything you got!" I yelled.

I quickly thought back to my battles with the other high dragons we've fought. Flemeth was killed by Sten; he jammed Asala through her underbelly and through her heart. I was the one who killed Andraste the Dragon. I concentrated a Crushing Prison around her head and put all my power behind it, crushing her head like a Grape. I decided to replicate the tactic. I'd just need to get it to stop moving it's damn head long enough to cast the spell, and then I would call upon Love to amplify my power. I dropped one of my barriers, Rock Armor, so I could get back enough concentration to cast my spell.

I extended my arm out, with my hand open, and aimed at the Dragon's head. I tuned out the sounds of fighting going on around me. Sounds of metal against flesh, mana being unleashed, and Darkspawn screaming. I snapped my hand shut-

"RAAARRRGH!"

-I cursed and turned, just in time to see a Genlock's sword come a mere inch from my face…my magical barrier just barely stopping it. Before I could attack it, the Genlock was frozen solid.

"Be aware of your surroundings!" I heard Morrigan scold me.

I shattered it with the shaft of my spear, and turned back towards the Archdemon. It was still breathing fire and moving its head. Obviously, my spell missed.

My shields blocked another fire attack. I turned to back to Garret, "Think you could paralyze it for a few seconds?" Garret was a Master in the School of Entropy.

I nearly cursed when I saw him shake his head. "Damn thing is immune to every hex I know!" His eyes widened, "What the hell is it doing?"

I turned back to it just in time to see its eyes glowing purple. It rose on its hind legs, spread its wings out, and gave out an earth-shattering roar. And then the area around us exploded. Once again, my shields managed to protect me from the actual flames, but the force of the attack blew me off my feet, sending me several yards backwards. At some point, during my brief flight, I ended up losing the grip on my spear. Landing in a heap on the ground, I pushed myself up to see the majority of the mages in similar positions. My heart nearly stopped when I saw Morrigan on the ground. I got to my feet and ran towards her, kneeling down next to the prone witch. I sighed in relief when I saw that she was just unconscious. That relief turned to fear when I saw a shadow loom over us. I looked up to see the Archdemon just a few yards away from us. It was looking straight at me.

I held my breath and bit my lip. Was this the end? Would we both die? Would Lohgain finish it off? Would Alistair? Would Ferelden burn? Would Morrigan die?

I narrowed my eyes and gathered power into my hand. I wouldn't go down without a fight.

Purple flames rose in its mouth. I nearly choked when the scent of sulfur filled my nose. It opened its mouth to breathe fire at me. It then snapped its head up and spewed the flames upwards. When the jet of flames ended, the Dragon let out a piercing roar.

I looked at it in confusion, as I felt Morrigan stir next to me. The Archdemon then turned its head towards its back leg. Following its gaze, I saw Liam, teeth sunk into the back of the Archdemon's upper thigh. Liam was biting the Archdemon's ass? Liam was biting the Archdemon's ass!

I jumped to my feet, just as Morrigan finally came to. I began to concentrate on the taint in my blood. The Archdemon opened its mouth to snap at Liam, but was stopped by a ballista bolt crashing into its head. I glanced to the side to see Lohgain on one of the Ballistas, a Dwarf was on the one adjacent to him. Looking to the side, I spotted my staff about ten yards away. I looked down at Morrigan, "Get back!" I yelled and sprinted to my weapon. Morrigan quickly got to her feet and retreated away from the Archdemon. I pointed my hand at the Dragon and let loose a Bloody Grasp, feeling a hit to my lifeforce at the same time. The attack connected, causing the Archdemon to howl in pain once again. Two more bolts hit the Archdemon, the motion causing Liam to release his hold and skid away. I grabbed my staff and turned back towards the dragon. A quick look around and I shuddered at the state of our forces. I noticed Wynne healing a few of the Dwarves, already calling upon the power of Faith.

I'd need to do the same, but first, I would need to find a way to pierce those **damn** scales. I activated Spell Might and then concentrated telekinetic energy through my spear and held it over my hand. I then rushed the Dragon. The moment I got within range, I threw my Veridium spear at it's chest, hoping the weapon would pierced it's damn heart. The spear pierced the demon's chest, digging in a good foot. I earned another earsplitting shriek from the Dragon, for my trouble. If the thing even had a heart, I clearly missed it…but that didn't matter.

My eyes glowed and a purple energy enveloped me as I summoned forth the Spirit of Love. Electricity danced around my hands, and I let loose a Lightning spell. The magic hit the end of the spear, traveled down the shaft, and **into** the Dragon; completely bypassing its scales. Though Lightning wasn't my best element, Love's power definitely helped compensate.

After my own attack, I saw many more bolts of lightning hit the spear. Obviously, the other Mages decided to follow in my example. I let loose a second Lightning spell and grinned when I saw the Dragon fall forward, slumping on the ground. I'd have to finish it now.

I gathered telekinetic energy into my hand, preparing for one final attack…when I felt a strong hand grasp my wrist. I looked over to see Lohgain, grabbing my hand. "Live…and protect Ferelden in my stead." With that, he charged the Archdemon.

The purple energy left me. I watched as Lohgain charged the Archdemon…Maric's sword held high. Through my peripheral, I saw Morrigan rushing to me. And then the Ogre…

My eyes widened, "Lohgain, watch out!"

An Ogre came at the Hero of River Dane from the right, and sucker punched him to the side…sending him sprawling. Three Hurlocks rushed him.

Another glance around and I cursed. Happy as I was that the Archdemon was down, I forgot that there was a larger battle raging on around us. The Legion, and now some Mages, were still fighting the Darkspawn…whose numbers only increased. It was all the healers could do to keep the living from falling…but they would soon be overwhelmed. More and more Darkspawn flooded out of the staircase…like a horde of locusts.

We were being overwhelmed.

_"It's common belief amongst the Order that the Third Blight lasted as long as it did, because the first Wardens that fought the Archdemon, at Arlesans, were too afraid to take the final blow." He glanced between Alistair and me. "The battle was won, but Toth was allowed to flee. The Blight lasted another decade, before someone finally ended the accursed thing. By that point, millions had died. So I beg this of you…if either of you get the chance to kill the Archdemon, take it. Please…"_

Gathering my courage, I rushed forward just as Morrigan reached me. "I love you", I whispered.

She looked horrified and screamed at me…but I didn't listen.

Purple energy flared around me, as I, once again, became the **Vessel of the Spirit**. I gathered all of my energy. I held out one arm, hand open.

_Memories of my parents flashed in my head. I really would have liked to have gone searching for them._

I closed my fist. My aim was true. The Crushing Prison had the Archdemon's head in a vice grip.

_I thought back to multiple instructors. Irving being the most prominent. I also thought back to Tristan…the man whose teachings just may have just saved a nation._

I raised both arms, hands opened. My hands were parallel to each other. On instinct, I reactivated Spell Might.

_I thought of the people I've met during the last year and a half. I chuckled to myself. How the hell we made it this far was beyond me…_

I tried to close my hands, but an invisible force made it difficult. As I did, the Dragon howled.

_I thought of her…_

My hands met…a clapping sound echoed across the rooftops. Urthemiel's head imploded. A burst of light erupted from the tainted Dragon, going up towards the heavens…

And then I fell unconscious.

.

.

.

.

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**Epilogue**

I grinned when I saw Alistair, dressed in Cailan's old armor, pacing up and down. "You wanted to see me, your royal highness." I gave him an elaborate bow.

Alistair scowled in response. "Knock that off. Last thing I need is _you_ of all people treating me differently."

I gestured towards the soldier who had been escorting me. "So what's the deal?"

"I didn't think I'd have time after the coronation, so I wanted to talk to you before hand." Alistair turned towards the guards in the room. "Umm…could you guys…please wait outside?" They did as they were told.

"You do know they're paid to follow your commands, right?"

Alistair nodded, "This is all just to new to me." He turned back to me. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Aside from being shocked that you're actually speaking to me…all right I guess."

Alistair sighed. "I guess I deserved that." He shook his head. "I shouldn't have abandoned the group like I did…It's just-"

"It's alright Alistair. I understand why you did it." Left unsaid was that I actually found the situation favorable. I didn't want to risk Alistair actually kill the Archdemon.

"Still, you made the right call with…Lohgain." I could tell he nearly gagged at the name. He'd need to get used to it…seeing as the man was his new father-in-law. "Duncan had a colorful past himself." He said with a sigh. "At least he got along with everyone else." He said sadly.

I snorted, "Actually, Wynne abhorred his presence. Everyone else just pretty much went along with it."

Alistair looked up, "Really?"

I nodded. I didn't say that Morrigan actually enjoyed Lohgain's presence over Alistair's…better to avoid that topic.

The soon to be king sighed. "Well, he's definitely buying off your dog."

I cocked an eyebrow at that, "Huh?"

Alistair nodded, "Yea, I saw him giving Liam a pound of venison…good quality to."

I narrowed my eyes, "That bastard sprung for venison? Damn, I had bought Liam a prime cut of mutton." I grumble. I knew he'd never _settle_ for mutton when he could have venison. Damn dog had expensive tastes.

Alistair looked at me oddly. "Is it Liam's birthday or something? Is there a reason he's getting special treatment?"

I grinned at Alistair, "I forgot to tell you what happened during the Final Battle. He saved my ass…by biting the Archdemon's…"

Alistair's eyes widened, "He bit the Archdemon-"

"Yep."

"In the…"

"Yea."

Alistair immediately burst out laughing, and I joined in as well. It's been a while since the two of us shared a laugh. Sometime before I recruited Lohgain. He stopped after a while, needing to catch his breath. "So, I recently got a message from Weisshaupt."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh joy. What'd they say?"

"The First Warden wants to know how _you_ are still alive. You know, the whole Warden dying to slay an Archdemon thing. I wasn't sure what to tell them."

Memories flashed before my eyes.

_I woke up to the sight of Morrigan crying over me. Liam was next to me as well, whining. Wynne was on my other side, praying. Lohgain stood, the first to notice I was awake, stood behind them all. He smiled and gestured for them to look at me. Morrigan literally threw herself on me. She separated a moment later and gave me a vicious slap across the face._

_Wynne took a few moments to examine me and make sure I was fine. Morrigan just looked at me, clearly shocked, and asked, "How…I felt you…die."_

_I grinned up at her, "Death cannot stop True Love."_

I shook my head at the memories. After that day, my dreams were empty. I could no longer call upon the Spirit of Love. My best guess…she took the hit for me. I turned back to Alistair and shrugged, "Short answer: the Power of True Love."

Alistair snorted, "I think the First will want the long answer."

"Considering the fact that the information could get me labeled as an Abomination, I don't think I feel like writing it in a letter. If the First wants it, then he or she get off their ass and come ask me in person."

Alistair chuckled at that. "Fair enough." A knock on the door caught Alistair's attention. "Come in."

Eamon poked his head into the room. "Alistair, the coronation is about to start." He saw me in the room and gave me a respectful nod, "Warden." Ever since the incident at the Landsmeet, where he obviously forgot my damn name, he seemed to try and play it off as respectfully only referring to me by my title.- Ass…

"We'll be right there." Eamon nodded and left. Alistair smiled at me, "Shall we go. Shouldn't keep the women waiting."

I nodded and followed him out.

-x-

Alistair and Anora reigned wisely and fairly over Ferelden. Alistair surprised everyone, especially Anora, by studying politics. The people agreed that the chaotic two years prior to the coronation was worth it, to receive such beloved Monarchs.

Wynne escorted Shale to the Tevinter Imperium. The Golem hoped to find a way to return to her _squishy_ form. Wynne would later return to serve as the Court Magician, an act that greatly pleased Alistair. Anora would also grow fond of the old woman over the years.

Sten returned to his homeland to answer the Arishok's question. When asked if he had met anyone worthy during his travels, he replied, "Just one." He also brought the knowledge of baking cookies back to the Qunari. There were talks of promoting him to an Arishok.

Ohgren found Felsi and temporarily settled down with her. They had a child together, whom Ohgren decided to name after his good friend, who changed his life for the better. Unfortunately, years of drinking left Ohgren's memory poor and he quickly forgot the Warden's name…so he just named his son, Gimli.

Zevran traveled with the Warden for some time, but left him soon afterwards. He eventually found himself in Antiva, and ended up taking over a Crow cell. He honestly didn't know how it happened. The Warden never saw him again, but in his mind he just knew…Zevran was probably having lots and lots of sex.

Leliana split her time between leading pilgrimages up to Andraste's temple and singing tales at the Palace, where she was always welcomed. Her most famous one was the tale of how the love between a man and a woman saved Ferelden. Unfortunately, Wynne wasn't pleased when she found out that Leliana's stories included her in a love triangle with Greagoir and Irving.

Lohgain took the remnants of Maric's Shield, old War veterans that were never able to settle down, and left towards the Deep roads. Most thought it was because he didn't want to get in his daughter's way again. Others thought it was his way of repenting for past sins. The Warden knew that it was because the First Warden wanted to transfer him to Orlais, and Lohgain would rather drop dead than follow through with that order. He briefly returned to the surface upon news that the Queen was with child but left to continue his duties after the child was born. With Lohgain's help, the Dwarves were able to recover many lost Thaigs and expand their empire…an empire that had no interest in the surface, yet would always be grateful to the Warriors of Ferelden.

Liam, aka He-who-bit-the-Archdemon-in-the-Ass, became a renowned hero and a household name. Nobles throughout Ferelden, requested his **help** to start kennels throughout the country. He soon became a symbol of Ferelden. Years later, when another Blight rose up, the Darkspawn were met with thousands of Mabari hounds…ready to live up to the name…Liam. His named spread far and wide. Nobles of Ferelden told their children stories of the brave Mabari hound, who fought in the final battle. His Master's name was forgotten a week after the Coronation.

A month after the Coronation, Avernus would call upon the Warden and reveal he was done with his research. A perfected Joining formula, that wouldn't kill any potential recruit. After his research was done, Avernus joined Lohgain in the deep roads. He died a month later.

The Spirit of Love was never seen again.

Morrigan and her Grey Warden left to rebuild the order in Ferelden. Morrigan was the first to try Avernus' new Joining potion. The two of them had many adventures and misadventures together…and I'm not just talking about Awakening. They fought a war after that and allied with many companions: like the physician turned Werewolf; the Giant spider that the Warden named, Dane; and Leliana's pet nug, Schmooples, who was later possessed by a Pride Demon…later going by the moniker Mr. Schmooples Lord of Destruction. But we won't be going into that. For the story is over and the author is going to work on other projects…seriously don't ask, I wanna work on something else.

For this story is over. The tale ended when Liam bit the Archdemon in the ass…errr…ummm…when the Warden crushed the Archdemon's head.

Yea…

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**A/N: That's the end of my story. Hope you guy's enjoyed it. The whole Dog biting the Archdemon's butt thing was a joke in another story of mine, and I decided to just add it.**

**For those of you who enjoyed this story, please read my other stories "The Warden's Retiring" and "Oh, Death".**

**That's the end of the story, please let me know what you think. REVIEW!**


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